STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7371 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY May 18, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Energy AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to enacting the "state and local clean energy partnership" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "state and local clean energy partnership". 3 § 2. Legislative findings and statement of purpose. The legislature 4 hereby finds, determines and declares: 5 1. In April 2016, the New York state public service commission ("the 6 commission") adopted a CCA Framework Order in Commission Case 14-M-0224 7 which authorized towns, villages and cities in New York state to form 8 opt-out Community Choice Aggregation ("CCA") Programs. 9 2. CCA programs allow municipalities, alone or jointly, to enact local 10 laws giving themselves the requisite legal authority to enter into 11 competitively-procured contracts with one or more energy service compa- 12 nies in order to act as an aggregator and broker for the sale of elec- 13 tric supply, gas supply, and/or other energy services, to residents of 14 that municipality wherein all customers, including residential and non- 15 residential, are eligible to participate in the program and shall have 16 the option to opt out of participating if desired. 17 3. Well-designed CCA programs can empower communities to take control 18 of their energy future; encourage and expand opportunities for customers 19 to access Community Distributed Generation ("CDG") programs, particular- 20 ly for low- to moderate-income households and renters who may not other- 21 wise have access to solar energy; and educate and encourage community 22 engagement in energy programs. 23 4. Since the adoption of the CCA Framework Order, CCA programs have 24 demonstrated their potential as a tool for facilitating engagement by 25 communities and retail customers in taking charge of their energy choic- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD11289-02-3A. 7371 2 1 es, securing competitive energy contracts on behalf of aggregated 2 customers, financially supporting the current renewable market and in 3 growing the renewable market in New York. 4 5. This act is intended to signal the state's continuing support of 5 CCA; to recognize the vibrant market created by CCA and the tremendous 6 progress achieved by those programs in encouraging residential demand 7 for renewables and community participation in making energy choices 8 locally; to recognize CCA as offering significant new opportunities for 9 the state to advance the Climate Act at the municipal and community 10 level; and to provide clarity and confidence necessary to allow the 11 commission to expeditiously advance broader deployment of CCA and to 12 incorporate opt-out CDG as part of the CCA framework. 13 6. Moreover, this act is intended to level the playing field for 14 communities seeking to participate in CCA, to ensure that opt-out CDG is 15 authorized within the CCA framework, and to promote fairness and equal 16 opportunity for communities across the state to innovate and advance 17 Climate Act goals. 18 7. Chapter 106 of the laws of 2019 enacted the New York State climate 19 leadership and community protection act (the "Climate Act") which among 20 other things: 21 a. Directed the department of environmental conservation to establish 22 statewide greenhouse gas emissions limits as a percentage of 1990 emis- 23 sions as follows: (i) 2020: 60% of 1990 emissions; and (ii) 2050: 15% of 24 1990 emissions; 25 b. Directed the commission to establish programs to require that a 26 minimum of 70% statewide electric generation be produced by renewable 27 energy systems by 2030, and that by the year 2040 the statewide elec- 28 trical demand system will generate zero emissions; 29 c. Directed the New York Climate Justice Working Group to identify 30 Disadvantaged Communities which are often overlooked in climate policy 31 initiatives and to ensure they directly benefit from the State's transi- 32 tion to cleaner, greener sources of energy, reduced pollution and clean- 33 er air, and economic opportunities created by or in conjunction with the 34 Climate Act; and 35 d. Directed that Disadvantaged Communities receive a minimum of 35 36 percent (with a goal of 40%) of benefits of investments in clean energy 37 and energy efficiency programs or projects in the areas of housing, 38 workforce development, pollution reduction, low- and moderate-income 39 energy assistance, energy, transportation, and economic development. 40 8. Decisions made by New Yorkers and their communities regarding their 41 energy usage and purchasing significantly impact the ability of the 42 State to achieve the Climate Act's goals and to encourage the deployment 43 of distributed energy resources. 44 9. Moreover, empowering communities to take control of their energy 45 future through CCA, and to choose and encourage local deployment of 46 renewable energy through opt-out CDG, advances the goals of the Climate 47 Act at the local level, encourages local participation in State energy 48 initiatives such as the Reforming the Energy Vision, Clean Energy Stand- 49 ard, and Climate Act, sends appropriate market signals to drive invest- 50 ment and innovation in New York's energy markets, empowers munici- 51 palities to make long-term planning and investment decisions related to 52 energy opportunities, and promotes equity and environmental justice by 53 leveraging community-level buying power and aggregated customer demand 54 to ensure access to CDG credits and other CCA program benefits for low- 55 and moderate-income New Yorkers in participating communities.A. 7371 3 1 10. The Climate Act reaffirms the State's commitment to advancing 2 social and environmental equity, and righting past environmental injus- 3 tices; this act furthers those commitments by ensuring equal access to 4 CCA among historically marginalized communities and prioritizes low-in- 5 come customers to benefit first from opt-out CDG crediting programs to 6 lower their energy bills. 7 11. A public policy purpose would be served and the interests of the 8 people of the state would be advanced by codifying the State's CCA 9 programs in law, directing the commission to streamline review and 10 approval of CCA programs consistent with this enactment, encouraging 11 community participation in CCA, authorizing CCA programs to integrate 12 opt-out CDG into their offerings, and prioritizing access to opt-out CDG 13 in Disadvantaged Communities. 14 § 3. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 74-c to 15 read as follows: 16 § 74-c. Community choice aggregation programs. 1. As used in this 17 section, the following terms shall have the following meanings: 18 (a) "Community choice aggregation" or "CCA" means a program serving 19 the interests of its residents and appropriately protecting consumer 20 data, in which an eligible municipality either alone or jointly, after a 21 public hearing held following public notice, exercises its municipal 22 home rule law authority by enacting a local law giving itself the requi- 23 site legal authority to enter into competitively-procured contracts with 24 one or more energy service companies and/or energy suppliers in order to 25 act as an aggregator and broker for the sale of electric and/or gas 26 supply, and/or allocation of CDG credits, to residents of that munici- 27 pality. CCA programs may aggregate or otherwise integrate other energy 28 services into their programs. 29 (b) "CCA administrator" means the entity selected by the eligible 30 municipality or municipalities to design, manage, and implement the CCA 31 program. Eligible municipalities may opt to perform the role of CCA 32 administrator on their own, or they may retain an expert or other third- 33 party to do so on behalf of the municipality or municipalities. 34 (c) "Community distributed generation" or "CDG" means a community 35 shared renewable generation program involving an eligible generation 36 source, as defined by the commission, located behind a non-residential 37 host meter which remotely shares net metering or other monetary credits 38 through a monetary credit applied to the utility bills of participating 39 customers. 40 (d) "Community distributed generation credit" or "CDG credit" means 41 monthly credits generated and allocated to participating customers on 42 their utility bills from a community distributed generation program. 43 (e) "Distributed energy resources" or "DER" refers to initiatives 44 undertaken under the climate leadership and community protection act 45 (CLCPA), New York state clean energy standard (CES), or similar energy 46 program which further engage and/or reduce cost of service for partic- 47 ipating consumers, optimize system benefits, and/or address infrastruc- 48 ture and demand challenges including, but not limited to, local renewa- 49 ble energy projects, distributed energy resources such as CDG, peak 50 demand management, energy efficiency, demand response, energy storage, 51 community resilience microgrid projects, and other innovative initi- 52 atives. 53 (f) "Eligible customers" means customers of electricity and/or gas 54 supply eligible to participate in CCA, either on an opt-out or opt-in 55 basis.A. 7371 4 1 (g) "Eligible municipality" means any city, town, or village, which 2 retains the legal authority to enact local laws under subparagraph 3 twelve of paragraph a of subdivision one of section ten of the municipal 4 home rule law. 5 (h) "Energy services" refers to the provision of electric and/or gas 6 energy supply, CDG credits, or other DER offerings. 7 (i) "Participating customers" means (i) eligible customers who have 8 not opted out of participation in a CCA program, and/or (ii) customers 9 who were not eligible to be automatically enrolled into a CCA program on 10 an opt-out basis who voluntarily opted into said program. 11 (j) "Suppliers" means the entity or entities under contract with the 12 CCA program to provide electricity, gas, CDG credits, and/or other 13 related energy services to participating customers, including but not 14 limited to energy service companies, generators of electricity, and/or 15 other entities who procure and resell electricity, gas and/or CDG cred- 16 its. 17 2. The commission shall establish by order, rules and/or regulations a 18 standard New York state CCA program, for all utility service territo- 19 ries, which provides the following: 20 (a) Eligible municipalities will continue to be permitted to form, on 21 their own or in cooperation with other eligible municipalities, a CCA 22 program, after providing public notice, holding a public hearing in the 23 community and adopting enabling legislation. 24 (b) Eligible municipalities shall have the ability to structure the 25 CCA program to encompass eligible customers within the entire munici- 26 pality or within a geographical subset of the municipality, or to create 27 multiple CCA program aggregations based upon reasonable geographic or 28 utility service territory parameters. 29 (c) Eligible municipalities shall be permitted to seek the assistance 30 of a third-party to serve as a CCA administrator, where such third-party 31 shall be deemed a provider of professional services for purposes of the 32 municipalities' compliance with section one hundred three of the general 33 municipal law. 34 (d) The CCA administrator shall be responsible for ensuring that the 35 CCA program is established to aggregate eligible customers utilizing an 36 approved opt-out process, in accordance with requirements established by 37 the commission. 38 (e) A CCA program may solicit, negotiate and enter into contracts with 39 suppliers to provide electricity, gas and/or CDG credits to participat- 40 ing customers on an opt-out basis, and may offer such related energy 41 services as may reasonably be included on an opt-in basis, or on an 42 opt-out basis as approved by the commission, including but not limited 43 to energy efficiency programs, demand response, peak load reduction, 44 energy management, storage, and other innovative energy initiatives 45 aimed at optimizing program benefits, reducing the cost of energy 46 service for participating customers, or otherwise furthering the goals 47 of the CLCPA. 48 (f) Eligible municipalities shall have the right, through a CCA 49 program, to enter into contracts at a price and contract terms to be 50 negotiated at the municipalities' discretion to serve the best interests 51 of their constituents. Best interests may include benefits associated 52 with advancing one or more of the CLCPA objectives. 53 (g) Eligible municipalities shall have the right to integrate into 54 their CCA program: (i) opt-out CDG and/or (ii) other energy services 55 programs on an opt-in basis, at their discretion, either as standalone 56 offerings or in addition to energy supply.A. 7371 5 1 (h) Opt-out CDG programs should prioritize the granting of CDG credits 2 first to low-income customers and/or eligible customers located in 3 disadvantaged communities designated pursuant to section 75-0111 of the 4 environmental conservation law. 5 (i) All CCA Administrators shall ensure that eligible customers are 6 provided, in plain language: (i) information regarding the opt-out 7 process for customers who do not wish to participate; (ii) instructions 8 for voluntarily opting in to a CCA offering for energy services not 9 offered on an opt-out basis and/or for customers who are not automat- 10 ically eligible to participate in CCA offerings on an opt-out basis; and 11 (iii) information for eligible customers who move into or within the 12 community after the CCA program has commenced and/or who may wish to 13 participate in a CCA program. 14 (j) CCA programs shall adopt and implement standard data security 15 agreements to govern treatment, collection, storage and protection of 16 customer data, in accordance with rules, regulations and guidelines 17 established by the commission. 18 (k) The commission shall establish reasonable and consistent reporting 19 requirements for CCA programs, municipalities, and/or serving utilities. 20 (l) The commission shall periodically review the CCA program rules, 21 reporting requirements, data security agreements, and/or other require- 22 ments to determine whether costs or burdens on CCAs could be reduced 23 and/or consumer protections improved in a manner consistent with this 24 section. 25 (m) Such other requirements and guidelines as deemed appropriate by 26 the commission. 27 3. No person or entity shall disadvantage a CCA program by virtue of 28 its status as a CCA. 29 4. CCA programs established pursuant to the provisions of this section 30 shall be consistent with the CLCPA to the maximum extent practicable. 31 5. The commission shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to 32 implement this act within ninety days of the effective date of this 33 section. This section shall not cause interruption of current CCA 34 program operations and, where appropriate, shall provide a process for 35 existing CCA programs to integrate beneficial modifications into current 36 and/or future operations consistent with this section. 37 § 4. Severability. If any provision of this act or the application 38 thereof to any person or circumstance is adjudged invalid by a court of 39 competent jurisdiction, that judgment shall not affect or impair the 40 validity of the other provisions of this act or the application thereof 41 to other persons and circumstances. 42 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.