PSC-32-10-00015-P Disposition of Legal Issues Raised in the Petition Regarding Submetering of Electricity at 63 Tiffany Place, Brooklyn, NY  

  • 8/11/10 N.Y. St. Reg. PSC-32-10-00015-P
    NEW YORK STATE REGISTER
    VOLUME XXXII, ISSUE 32
    August 11, 2010
    RULE MAKING ACTIVITIES
    PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
    PROPOSED RULE MAKING
    NO HEARING(S) SCHEDULED
     
    I.D No. PSC-32-10-00015-P
    Disposition of Legal Issues Raised in the Petition Regarding Submetering of Electricity at 63 Tiffany Place, Brooklyn, NY
    PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:
    Proposed Action:
    The Commission is considering whether to grant, deny or modify, in whole or in part, request for stay of submetering, investigation, vacatur or modification of Order and remediation of alleged unlawful charges and practices at 63 Tiffany Place, Brooklyn.
    Statutory authority:
    Public Service Law, sections 2(1), (2), (3), (4), (12), (13), 5(1), 22, 23(1), 30, 32(1) - (6), 35(1) - (2), 36(1) - ( 3), 37(1) - (2), 38(1) - (3), 39(1) - (3), 41(1) - (3), 42(1) - (2), 43(1) - (3), 44(1), (3), (5), 46, 47(1) - (2), 51, 53, 64, 65(1), (5), 66(1), (2), (27), 67(1), (3) and (4)
    Subject:
    Disposition of legal issues raised in the petition regarding submetering of electricity at 63 Tiffany Place, Brooklyn, NY.
    Purpose:
    Disposition of legal issues raised in the petition regarding submetering of electricity at 63 Tiffany Place, Brooklyn, NY.
    Substance of proposed rule:
    The Public Service Commission is considering whether to grant, deny or modify, in whole or in part, a petition filed July 21, 2009 on behalf of Tiffany Mews Tenant Committee by the Public Utility Law project of New York, Inc. (PULP) seeking stay of submetering, investigation, vacatur or modification of the Commission Order granting a petition to submeter electricity issued in Case 91-E-0241 on September 27, 1991 and remediation of alleged unlawful charges, terms and conditions relating to electric submetering at 63 Tiffany Place, Brooklyn, New York. Upon review of PULP's July 21, 2009 petition (PULP Petition), the non-consumer complaint legal issues were transferred by the Secretary to the Commission to Case 91-E-0241 so that the Commission may address the legal issues, while the consumer complaint issues raised in these matters will remain with the Department of Public Service, Office of Consumer Services (OCS) and will continue to be addressed through the OCS process. The Public Service Commission will consider the following legal issues: 1) whether the Commission's Order in Case 91-E-0241 authorized Related Tiffany, L.P. (Related) to resell electricity to tenants; 2) whether Related and Tiffany Mews Limited Partnership (Tiffany Mews) were required to file a tariff or contract with the Commission for electric service; 3) whether Related or its predecessor should have disclosed to the Commission that the building would be electrically heated; 4) Whether Related or its predecessor failed to notify the Commission as to the reliability and accuracy of the submetering equipment to be used and whether the Commission failed to make a determination as to whether the submeters are approved; 5) whether the Commission's Order approving submetering allows for complaint resolution process that is contrary to HEFPA; 6) whether Related changed the complaint resolution process without Commission approval; 7) whether Related's lease provision deeming electricity "additional rent" and the practice of evicting tenants for non-payment is inconsistent with HEFPA; and, 8) whether Related unlawfully imposed time-of-use pricing on tenants without their consent. The Commission may apply any policy decision in this case to other cases involving submetering.
    Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained by filing a Document Request Form (F-96) located on our website http://www.dps.state.ny.us/f96dir.htm. For questions, contact:
    Leann Ayer, Public Service Commission, 3 Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350, (518) 486-2655, email: leann_ayer@dps.state.ny.us
    Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:
    Jaclyn A. Brilling, Secretary, Public Service Commission, 3 Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350, (518) 474-6530, email: Secretary@dps.state.ny.us
    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 proposed rule is within the definition contained in section 102(2)(a)(ii) of the State Administrative Procedure Act.
    (91-E-0241SP2)

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