PSC-30-16-00002-EP Resuming Billing of Six Gas Customers on Sullivan Rd., Alden, NY

7/27/16 N.Y. St. Reg. PSC-30-16-00002-EP

NEW YORK STATE REGISTER

VOLUME XXXVIII, ISSUE 30

July 27, 2016

RULE MAKING ACTIVITIES

PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

EMERGENCY/PROPOSED RULE MAKING

NO HEARING(S) SCHEDULED

 

I.D No. PSC-30-16-00002-EP

Filing Date. Jul. 11, 2016

Effective Date. Jul. 11, 2016

Resuming Billing of Six Gas Customers on Sullivan Rd., Alden, NY

PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following action:

Proposed Action:

The Commission, on July 11, 2016, adopted an order allowing Reserve Gas Company, Inc. to resume billing of its six natural gas customers who reside on Sullivan Road in Alden, New York.

Statutory authority:

Public Service Law, sections 65 and 66

Finding of necessity for emergency rule:

Preservation of public safety and general welfare.

Specific reasons underlying the finding of necessity:

In March, 2016, Department of Public Service (DPS) Staff was alerted by individual customer complaints, state legislators, and the Town of Alden, New York, Supervisor that Reserve Gas Company, Inc. (Reserve), which has been providing gas service to six customers (the six customers) on Sullivan Road in the Town of Alden since 1999 intended to end their natural gas service on May 31, 2016 because the owner of the wells serving the customers had abandoned them. On May 10, 2016, at the direction of DPS Staff, Reserve again contacted the six customers this time to state that gas service would not end and the gas meters Reserve had installed in 1999 would remain in place, but that Reserve would not bill customers pending resolution of Reserve’s gas supply issues, described herein. Reserve has offered to inspect, repair if necessary, and possibly take control of, a delivery pipe that serves the six customers. To allow Reserve rates to cover these costs and to help ensure continued gas service to the six customers, the Commission is authorizing Reserve to resume billing of the six customers at Reserve’s tariffed rate, which Reserve had been charging the six customers prior to its May 10, 2016 letter.

Subject:

Resuming billing of six gas customers on Sullivan Rd., Alden, NY.

Purpose:

To allow Reserve Gas Company to resume billing its six Sullivan Rd. customers.

Substance of emergency/proposed rule:

The Commission adopted an order allowing Reserve Gas Company (Reserve) to resume natural gas service billing of six customers who live on Sullivan Road in Alden, NY (the six customers). Reserve had stopped billing the six customers because their gas supply had become unpredictable due to the abandonment of the gas wells that serve the six customers (the wells), although the six customers continued to receive gas. To assist the Department of Public Service in resolving the gas service issues for the six customers, Reserve has proposed to inspect and possibly take ownership of the wells’ delivery pipes so gas service is secured permanently before for winter 2016-2017. Because the 11th of each month is Reserve’s monthly billing date, the Commission is allowing Reserve to resume billing of the six customers immediately to allow in rates the costs of inspecting the wells.

This notice is intended:

to serve as both a notice of emergency adoption and a notice of proposed rule making. The emergency rule will expire October 8, 2016.

Text of rule may be obtained from:

John Pitucci, Public Service Commission, 3 Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350, [phone], email: [e-mail]

Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:

Kathleen H. Burgess, Secretary, Public Service Commission, 3 Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350, [phone], email: [e-mail]

Public comment will be received until:

45 days after publication of this notice.

Regulatory Impact Statement, Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, Rural Area Flexibility Analysis and Job Impact Statement

Statements and analyses are not submitted with this notice because the amended rule is within the definition contained in section 102(2)(a)(ii) of the State Administrative Procedure Act.

(16-G-0181EP1)