Bill > A07610

This bill increases penalties for utility companies that violate public service regulations by significantly raising the monetary fines across several categories of infractions. Specifically, the bill increases civil penalties for general regulatory violations from $100,000 to $290,000 per offense, safety violations causing injury or death from $250,000 to $720,000, and reliability and service continuity violations from $500,000 to $1,450,000. The bill also introduces an inflation adjustment mechanism that will automatically increase these penalties each January 1st starting in 2027, based on the change in the consumer price index. Additionally, the bill adds a new penalty of up to $500,000 for utility companies found to have failed to satisfy their "duty of candor with the public," which means not being sufficiently transparent or truthful in their communications. These increased penalties apply to both public utility companies and combination gas and electric corporations, and they are designed to incentivize better compliance with safety, reliability, and transparency standards in the utility sector.

Government Affairs

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A7610