PSC-39-16-00028-P Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.'s Replevin Acts and Practices

9/28/16 N.Y. St. Reg. PSC-39-16-00028-P

NEW YORK STATE REGISTER

VOLUME XXXVIII, ISSUE 39

September 28, 2016

RULE MAKING ACTIVITIES

PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

PROPOSED RULE MAKING

NO HEARING(S) SCHEDULED

 

I.D No. PSC-39-16-00028-P

Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.'s Replevin Acts and Practices

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 a petition by Public Utility Law Project of New York, Inc. for review and to recommend changes to Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.'s replevin acts and practices.

Statutory authority:

Public Service Law, sections 65 and 66

Subject:

Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.'s replevin acts and practices.

Purpose:

To review Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.'s replevin acts and practices.

Substance of proposed rule:

The Commission is considering a petition filed by the Public Utility Law Project of New York, Inc. (PULP) that seeks a Commission review of the acts and practices of Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. (Con Edison or the Company) in replevin actions (the Petition). Con Edison uses the civil remedy of replevin as a means of physically disconnecting electric or gas services to customers who have not paid their electric or gas charges. The petition seeks review and relief, where warranted, of Con Edison’s implementation of the requirements in the Home Energy Fair Practices Act (HEFPA) and seeks review of Con Edison’s acts and practices when carrying out its notice and hearing process with respect to civil replevin actions. Specifically, PULP asks the Commission to review (1) whether Con Edison should be allowed to schedule voluntary replevin meetings inside a courthouse, which, PULP believes, gives the “appearance that the Company is acting under color of law and that the ‘hearing’ carries judicial authority;” (2) whether Con Edison’s actions with respect to meter replevin proceedings comply with the spirit and notice requirements of CPLR Article 71 actions. PULP seeks “more transparent and accountable ways for the Company to seek its goals consistent with law and Commission policy while also keeping its customers well informed of the proceedings and available remedies;” and (3) whether replevin of meters absent specific notice procedures is against the public interest because replevin “is inherently dangerous.” The petition states that PULP “does not assert here that there is evidence of intentional wrongdoing by the Company” and asserts that, when meeting with customers at the courthouse, Con Edison is not able to offer deferred payment agreements (DPAs) that comply with the Home Energy Fair Practices Act (HEFPA) because HEFPA-compliant DPAs are based upon the customer’s ability to pay, which is difficult to discern at a courthouse meeting. The remedies PULP seeks include, at least, the following: (1) requiring Con Edison to offer “written and fully compliant” DPAs before beginning replevin proceedings; (2) requiring Con Edison to make certain that customers are adequately informed of the rights they have under HEFPA, particularly with respect to replevin proceedings “to oppose issuance of a pre-judgment seizure order being requested by” Con Edison; (3) barring Con Edison from conducting replevins of gas or electric meters without a formal judicial proceeding; and (4) barring Con Edison from conducting replevin actions during cold weather periods as defined in 16 NYCRR 11.5(c). The Commission may adopt, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the relief proposed and may resolve related matters.

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.ny.gov/f96dir.htm. For questions, contact:

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 proposed rule is within the definition contained in section 102(2)(a)(ii) of the State Administrative Procedure Act.

(16-M-0501SP1)