S3219-2011 Actions

• Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
• Feb 14, 2011: REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

S3219-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S3219

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the public service law, in relation to providing incentives for
energy conservation through voltage regulation

PURPOSE:
To amend the Public Service Law to provide incentives for
energy conservation through voltage regulation.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
This bill adds a new section
66-m which defines
"voltage regulation device" and states that electric utilities may
recover the capital and operating costs and earn a 15% rate of return
in the utility's rate bases on investments and installations of
voltage regulation devices.

JUSTIFICATION:
Energy conservation devices are now available that make
it possible for electric utilities to reduce a building's energy
consumption by six to eight percent by installing a voltage
regulation device on the building's meter box. Utilities send out
power to customers from substations, and customers closest to the
substation receive higher voltage numbers (i.e., 124 volts) than
those further away (no fewer than 114 volts).
Because power is lost over distance on a utility's transmission lines,
a utility has to send out more power than some of their customers
need to assure that the customers at the end of the line get at least
114 volts delivered to them. By installing a voltage regulation
device on a customer's meter box, utilities can regulate the voltage
that the customer draws off the line to assure that the customer only
pulls 114 volts off the line. The six to eight percent savings in
conserved and no behavioral changes by the consumer are necessary.

This legislation would fix the anomaly in New York law that provides a
disincentive for utilities to conserve power. Utilities generate
revenue from power sales; and conservation of power - despite the
clear benefits of reducing dependence on foreign oil and greenhouse
gas emissions - reduce a utility's revenue. This bill solves the
disincentive by allowing utilities to recover the lost revenue that
would result from utilizing the conservation device. This recovered
revenue would be used to pay for the cost of the device and a rate of
return would be allowed to encourage utilities to install them. The
bill, however, merely sets up the framework to use voltage regulation
devices but does not require utility companies to do so. Passage of
this legislation will conserve energy, reduce carbon emissions, and
improve the efficiency of the electric grid.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2010: A.9451 Referred to Energy

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.


EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

S3219-2011 Text

 S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 
 
                                         3219
 2011-2012 Regular Sessions
 I N  SENATE
 February 14, 2011
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. MAZIARZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
 printed to be committed to the Committee on  Energy  and  Telecommuni
 cations
 AN  ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to providing incen
 tives for energy conservation through voltage regulation
 THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

Section  1.  The public service law is amended by adding a new section
 66-m to read as follows:

 

S 66-M. VOLTAGE REGULATION. 1. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS  SECTION  "VOLTAGE
 REGULATION  DEVICE"  SHALL  MEAN  VOLTAGE  REGULATION TECHNOLOGIES WHICH
 RAISE OR LOWER VOLTAGE DYNAMICALLY AND ARE NINETY-NINE PERCENT  OR  MORE
 EFFICIENT ACROSS AT LEAST NINETY PERCENT OF THE ELECTRIC LOAD CURVE.
 2.  ELECTRIC UTILITIES MAY RECOVER THE CAPITAL AND OPERATING COSTS AND
 EARN A FIFTEEN PERCENT RATE OF RETURN IN THE  UTILITY'S  RATE  BASES  ON
 INVESTMENTS AND INSTALLATIONS OF VOLTAGE REGULATION DEVICES.
 

S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD06186-01-1

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