Office of Utility Consumer Advocate (S.4884)/(A.3184)

February 23rd, 2021

RE:  AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to creating the state office of the utility consumer advocate 

S.4884 (Savino) / A.3184 (Dinowitz) 

MEMORANDUM IN OPPOSITION 

Unshackle Upstate, a non-partisan, pro-taxpayer, pro-economic growth, education and advocacy coalition made up of Upstate business and trade organizations, opposes this legislation. 

The bill creates a new state Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate, and provides that the Utility Consumer Advocate will be appointed by the Governor and be subject to Senate confirmation. This office will be permitted to participate, on behalf of residential utility customers, in any proceeding before the Public Service Commission (PSC), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) or in any court proceeding that may impact such customers. 

It is easy to understand the appeal of this proposal. The promise of reducing utility consumers’ rates is a powerful one, given that New York State has some of the highest electricity costs in the nation. Unfortunately, nothing in this legislation will ensure that utility rates will be reduced. 

The creation of a new and duplicative office will not ‘empower’ ratepayers in the way that the sponsors suggest, nor will it result in the savings for residential utility consumers that the sponsors claim it will. Further, it is not clear exactly how this newly created state office will be paid for. Finally, the Utility Consumer advocate would not be permitted to advocate on behalf of utility consumers by opposing state-imposed taxes, fees and surcharges on utility bills. 

This new office would be duplicative of existing state entities. Its mission would overlap with that of the Public Service Commission’s Office of Consumer Policy and its Office of Consumer Services, as well as the Department of State’s Utility Intervention Unit and the Attorney General’s Office. The state also provides funding for the Public Utility Law Project (PULP), an independent, non-profit that regularly intervenes in rate cases. 

For many of New York’s energy customers, taxes, fees and surcharges routinely make up more than 25% of their bill. Rather than unnecessarily expand the state’s already large bureaucracy, we urge the sponsors and supporters of this bill to instead address the problem of New York’s high utility taxes, fees and surcharges, which have contributed to making the state’s energy costs the highest in the nation. 

For these reasons, we oppose the enactment of this legislation.