Trending
A New York lawmaker wants to add excessively hot weather to the times when electric service can't be shut off when a bill goes unpaid.
Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell, D-New York City, recently introduced A.7975 which would prohibit termination of electricity or heat service during forecasts of more than 95 degrees on the heat index, not necessarily temperature, or less than 32 degrees. O'Donnell also proposes there be no heat or gas shutoffs when extreme temperatures are forecast for days preceding a holiday or a weekend day.
Existing law already prevents utility services from being shut off for those who have health or safety issues if a doctor has submitted written directions for the utility customer, though that protection is limited to the winter months from Nov. 1 through April 15.
O'Donnell wrote in his legislative justification that high-temperature days are increasing, including several days in July where New York City had temperatures around 100 degrees.
"Heat-exacerbated deaths have been increasing in the past decade, and in New York City alone, an estimated 350 New Yorkers die because of heat and heat-related causes each summer," O'Donnell wrote. "A balance due on one's electric or gas bill should not mean New Yorkers risk their lives during the warmest and coldest days of the year. This legislation follows the lead of many other state temperature-based shutoff rules, including Arizona, Georgia, and Illinois, among others. This legislation will tie the criteria to the National Weather Service readings to prevent shutoffs during extreme heat and cold forecasts throughout the state."
The Illinois law O'Donnell references was signed into law earlier this year after a push the Illinois attorney general. Some Republicans in the Illinois legislature argued the plan will push the cost of power onto other customers, but there was generally little opposition as the bill passed the Illinois House of Representatives 75-33 and the Illinois Senate 52-1. Legislators acted after a spike in utility shut-offs in Illinois late in 2022, when power was shut off 285,000 times in a 10-month period, the most among the 30 states that make such information publicly available.
In 2019, the Arizona Corporation Commission issued a moratorium on summertime shutoffs by power companies it oversees, with the state before instituting a ban on the practice in 2022. Electric utilities have the choice to stop disconnections from June 1 through October 15 or pause them only on days where temperature are forecast to be above 95 degrees or below 32 degrees. The Arizona state legislature has not yet taken any action.