§ 66-m. Green jobs-green New York on-bill recovery. 1.(a) The commission shall, within forty-five days of the effective date of this section, commence a proceeding to investigate the implementation by each combination electric and gas corporation having annual revenues in excess of two hundred million dollars of a billing and collection service for on-bill recovery charges in payment of obligations of its customers to the green jobs-green New York revolving loan fund established pursuant to title nine-A of article eight of the public authorities law and, within one hundred fifty days of the effective date of this section, the commission shall make a determination establishing the billing and collection procedures for such on-bill recovery charges. The department shall consult with the New York state energy research and development authority in the preparation of its recommendations to the commission for such determination. The commission shall require such electric and gas corporations to offer billing and collection services for green jobs-green New York on-bill recovery charges for eligible customers within three hundred days of the effective date of this section. To the extent practicable, such electric and gas corporations shall utilize existing electronic data interchange infrastructure or other existing billing infrastructure to implement their billing and collection responsibilities under this section, and shall utilize funding available from the New York state energy research and development authority to defray any costs associated with electronic data interchange improvements or other costs of initiating and implementing this program.

(b) To ensure proper program design and implementation, each electric and gas corporation shall initially limit the number of customers who pay a green jobs-green New York on-bill recovery charge at any given time to no more than one half of one percent of its total customers, on a first come, first served basis. Prior to reaching such limit, the New York state energy research and development authority shall petition the commission to review said limit, and the commission shall increase such limit provided that the commission finds that the program has not caused significant harm to the electric or gas company or its ratepayers.

(c) The commission may suspend such an electric and gas corporation's offering of the on-bill recovery charge provided that the commission, after conducting a hearing as provided in section twenty of this chapter, makes a finding that there is a significant increase in arrears or utility service disconnections that the commission determines is directly related to the on-bill recovery charge, or a finding of other good cause.

(d) The on-bill recovery charge shall be collected on the bill from the customer's electric corporation unless the qualified energy efficiency services at that customer's premises result in more projected energy savings on the customer's gas bill than the electric bill, in which case such charge shall be collected on the customer's gas corporation bill.

(e) The commission shall determine an appropriate percentage, up to fifteen percent, of the energy savings from qualified energy efficiency services, financed with a loan pursuant to section eighteen hundred ninety-six of the public authorities law that is subject to an on-bill recovery charge, to be credited to the combination electric and gas corporation that is issuing the bill for such charge, for purposes of meeting such corporation's targets under energy efficiency programs established by the commission. 2. Schedules for the collection and billing of on-bill recovery charges shall provide:

(a) that billing and collection services shall be available to all customers who have met the standards established by the New York state energy research and development authority for participation in the on-bill recovery mechanism under the green jobs-green New York program and have executed an agreement for the performance of qualified energy efficiency services under such program; provided, however, that for residential properties any such customer must hold primary ownership or represent the primary owner or owners of the premises and hold primary meter account responsibility or represent the primary holder or holders of meter account responsibility for all meters to which such on-bill recovery charges will apply;

(b) that the responsibilities of such electric and gas corporation are limited to providing billing and collection services for on-bill recovery charges as directed by the authority;

(c) that the rights and responsibilities of residential customers paying on-bill recovery charges shall be governed by the provisions of article two of this chapter;

(d) unless fully satisfied prior to sale or transfer, that (i) the on-bill recovery charges for any services provided at the customer's premises shall survive changes in ownership, tenancy or meter account responsibility, and (ii) that arrears in on-bill recovery charges at the time of account closure or meter transfer shall remain the responsibility of the incurring customer, unless expressly assumed by a subsequent purchaser of the property subject to such charges;

(e) not less than forty-five days after closure of an account that is subject to an on-bill recovery charge, and provided that the customer does not re-establish service with such electric and gas corporation, it shall be the responsibility of the New York state energy research and development authority and not the electric and gas corporation to collect any arrears that are due and owing;

(f) a customer remitting less than the total amount due for electric and/or gas services and on-bill recovery charges shall have such partial payment first applied as payment for electric and/or gas services and any remaining amount will be applied to the on-bill recovery charge;

(g) billing and collection services shall be available without regard to whether the energy or fuel delivered by the utility is the customer's primary energy source;

(h) unless otherwise precluded by law, participation in the green jobs-green New York program shall not affect a customer's eligibility for any rebate or incentive offered by a utility; and

(i) any other provisions necessary to provide for the billing and collection of on-bill recovery charges. 3. The commission shall not approve any application for the conversion to submetering of any master meter which is subject to any on-bill recovery charges.