N.Y. Public Service Law 135-G – Financing
§ 135-g. Financing. 1. Where any home conservation plan is approved by the commission and requires utility financing, any such plan shall provide that upon entering into a financing contract and security agreement with an eligible customer, the utility shall reimburse such eligible customer, or pay directly to an authorized contractor and/or supplier a sum of money to cover the costs of installing energy conservation measures, subject to the maximum amount set forth in subdivision four hereof. Such sum shall be referred to as "the amount financed".
Terms Used In N.Y. Public Service Law 135-G
- Commission: means the public service commission of the state of New York. See N.Y. Public Service Law 135-B
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Eligible customer: means any person who:
(a) holds legal title to a one, two, three, or four family home constructed prior to January first, nineteen hundred eighty which receives electric or gas service from a utility other than a person who is the original contractor or builder of any such home unless he lives in such home, or
(b) is in rightful possession under a lawful lease of a one, two, three, or four family home constructed prior to January first, nineteen hundred eighty who (i) receives at such home and pays for electric or gas services, from a utility, (ii) has the written permission of the holder of legal title to such home to enter into a financing contract and security agreement pursuant to this article, and has the consent of such holder for the financing utility to obtain a security interest in and lien upon the premises, (iii) if the financing utility so requests, provides security of a type and in an amount approved by the commission, and (iv) does not present an undue credit risk as determined in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated for this purpose by the commission. See N.Y. Public Service Law 135-B - Energy conservation measures: means :
(a) caulking and weatherstripping of all exterior doors and windows;
(b) furnace efficiency modifications including but not limited to:
(i) replacement burners designed to reduce the firing rate or to achieve a reduction in the amount of fuel consumed as a result of increased combustion efficiency;
(ii) devices for modifying flue openings which will increase the efficiency of the heating system, and
(iii) electrical or mechanical furnace ignition systems which replace standing gas pilot lights;
(c) furnace and boiler retrofits, including but not limited to burner and system derating;
(d) furnace and boiler replacements regardless of the fuel used, provided that such replacement furnaces or boilers shall meet minimum efficiency standards established by the commission;
(e) heat pumps provided that such heat pumps shall meet such minimum efficiency standards for heating and cooling purposes established by the commission in the absence of any provision establishing such standards in the energy law;
(f) clock thermostats;
(g) ceiling, attic, wall, foundation, air duct, heating pipe and floor insulation;
(h) hot water heater insulation;
(i) storm and thermal windows and doors;
(j) solar and wind systems; and
(k) load management devices and energy use meters, together with associated wiring; and
(l) such other measures that the commission shall specify. See N.Y. Public Service Law 135-B - Home conservation plan: means the general program administered and established by each utility pursuant to this article, which sets forth the framework for individual home energy conservation programs for eligible customers. See N.Y. Public Service Law 135-B
- Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. Source: OCC
- Utility: means an investor-owned gas or electrical corporation regulated by the commission whose gross revenues for the preceding calendar year exceeded three hundred fifty million dollars. See N.Y. Public Service Law 135-B
2. Any such home conservation plan shall contain several options for period of repayment; provided, however, the maximum repayment period shall be seven years and it shall be offered in each plan.
3. Each participant shall repay to the utility the total amount financed plus allowable interest charges on such amounts, through charges separately set forth and identified, on such participant's periodic bill for gas or electric service from the financing utility, or may be separately billed as provided in the plan.
4. The total amount financed by a participant shall not exceed two thousand five hundred dollars in the case of a single family home, three thousand five hundred dollars in the case of a two family home, four thousand dollars in the case of a three family home, and four thousand five hundred dollars in the case of a four family home.
The total amount financed by a participant for paragraph (j) of subdivision four of section one hundred thirty-five-b of this chapter shall not exceed four thousand dollars in the case of a single family home, five thousand dollars in the case of a two family home, five thousand five hundred dollars in the case of a three family home, and six thousand dollars in the case of a four family home.
5. In the event an eligible customer takes both electric service and gas service from different utilities, the customer may choose to participate in one plan offered by either the gas company or the electric company, but not both. The total amount financed shall become an added portion of the bill from the one utility in whose plan the customer participates and shall become a debt due such utility.
6. Any financing utility shall be entitled to receive interest from each participating, eligible customer on the amount financed by that customer at a maximum rate to be determined by the commission in approving the utility's home conservation plan. In determining the maximum rate of interest, the commission shall consider the cost of borrowing to the utility from all available sources, the cost of financing generally available to potential participating customers from other sources, the maximum use of funds available to a utility, efforts by the utility to minimize interest costs, and shall endeavor to set the rate in a manner which will assist customers in installing energy conservation measures at the lowest possible cost. In no event shall the interest rate exceed the overall rate of return awarded to the utility in its last general rate case. The commission and any financing utility shall develop and adopt means for minimizing the cost to utilities for providing financing under this article.
7. In adopting any such home conservation plan the commission shall set maximum aggregate amounts to be available for financing by each utility in the year of its plan.