Requires electric companies to provide alternative measures to ensure customers with documented need for essential electricity for medical needs have access to electricity during power outages; requires electric companies to provide generators or lodging for such individuals and transportation for medical devices.
Establishes a program to develop microgrids that are capable of providing an uninterrupted supply of power to one or more community outage assets through an extended electric distribution outage.
Relates to establishing the New York state grid modernization commission; provides the commission shall conduct a study of research, development and demonstrations of electric grid modernization and shall issue such report to the state energy planning board for consideration in the state energy plan.
Provides that in the siting of new electric transmission facilities, including high-voltage transmission lines, the following corridors shall be utilized in the following order of priority in accordance with feasibility of economic and engineering considerations, reliability of the electric system and the protection of the environment: existing utility corridors; highway (interstate, freeway and state trunk) and railroad corridors; recreational trails, to the extent that the facilities may be constructed below ground and that the facilities do not significantly impact environmentally sensitive areas; and new corridors; provides that the commissioner of transportation shall engage in coordination activities with a utility or transmission line developer to review requested highway corridors for possible permitted locations of transmission lines.
S 4429 requires gas and electric corporations in New York to dedicate 40% of their operating budget starting in 2026 to strengthen power systems against storms and outages. This includes hardening infrastructure, improving response times, and clearing trees near power lines to reduce outages. Corporations must submit quarterly reports to the Public Service Commission documenting compliance and include this evidence when requesting rate increases. The law aims to make power lines more resilient statewide, with the first reports due April 1, 2026.
Enacts the "build to need act" to meet the state's electrification and climate related policy mandates; directs the public service commission to implement a grid planning process; makes related provisions.
This bill requires New York's energy research agency (NYSERDA) to develop recommendations for establishing microgrids at critical facilities like hospitals, fire stations, water plants, and schools. The agency must study priority locations (focusing on areas with past storm damage and disadvantaged communities) and identify funding options for these localized power networks. The resulting report, due within one year, will guide state decisions on improving energy resilience for essential services during outages. It directly affects communities relying on these critical facilities and state agencies managing infrastructure.
Enacts the "build to need act" to meet the state's electrification and climate related policy mandates; directs the public service commission to implement a grid planning process; makes related provisions.
Directs electric corporations and combination electric and gas corporations to file a cost-effectiveness and timetable analysis as part of any base rate proceeding with the public service commission; directs NYSERDA to conduct a study on the effectiveness of advanced transmission technologies.
This bill requires New York's Energy Research and Development Authority to develop recommendations for establishing microgrids - local power networks that can operate independently during outages - at critical facilities like hospitals, fire stations, schools, water plants, and emergency shelters. It mandates the Authority to evaluate which facilities should prioritize microgrids, identify geographic areas needing them (based on past storm damage and disadvantaged communities), and propose funding solutions. The Authority must submit these recommendations to state leaders within one year of the bill's effective date. The bill focuses on enhancing grid resilience for essential services without specifying funding sources or implementation timelines.
