Bill > S00405

This bill amends the Public Service Law to establish a utility intervenor reimbursement program. The key provisions are: 1. It defines terms such as "compensation," "participant," "proceeding," and "substantial contribution" related to the reimbursement program. 2. It allows eligible participants, such as groups representing residential or small business customers, to apply for reimbursement of reasonable costs incurred for participating in certain utility-related proceedings before the Public Service Commission. 3. It requires the Department to determine whether the participant can make a substantial contribution to the proceeding and set the amount of compensation to be paid by the utility. 4. It allows the Department to direct the utility to pay the compensation to the participant upfront if the participant demonstrates significant financial hardship. 5. It establishes a Utility Intervenor Account in the state's finance law to hold the reimbursement monies received from utilities. The overall purpose of the bill is to encourage and facilitate participation by consumer advocates and other interested parties in utility-related proceedings before the Public Service Commission.