If you’re keeping a list of which bills are still in play as the New York legislative session heads into the final sprint, we have a last-minute substitution.

From the state lawmakers who brought you the  NY HEAT Act, enter the Customer Savings and Reliability Act. The new bill was introduced Monday with literally no time to spare if the Senate is to pass it and leave town Thursday given the three-day aging period required for new legislation. 

Nearly two weeks ago, Spectrum News 1 reported that the NY HEAT was undergoing significant amending to address concerns in the state Assembly. After about two weeks under the hood, state Sen. Liz Krueger revealed that lawmakers have retrofitted the NY HEAT — which sought to aline New York’s utility policy with its move away from fossil fuels — into a new bill altogether.

“We ended up drafting a significantly different bill, but with most of the same goals and targets,” she said.

According to Krueger, the changes include:

• Mechanisms to account for the unique needs of each region of the state.
• A process for utilities to opt out of Regional Savings and Reliability Programs, geared toward concerns from Western New York’s National Fuel. 
• Language to clarify that customers will bear no cost for being transitioned off of gas, and difficult-to-electrify industrial or commercial uses will not have service discontinued.
• Neighborhood Gas Transition Projects will not proceed unless approved by at least 50% of affected customers after 2030, or 100% prior to 2030.
• Removal of language that would have capped utility rates at 6% of household income, as Krueger says it’s redundant given existing PSC goals. 
• Removal of language that would have cut gas service after buildings have been demolished 
• Removal of language that would have limited expansion of gas service into new territories. 
• Removal of language that would have required gas utilities to review capital construction plans and examine feasible alternatives.

Krueger said the new bill will still eliminate the 100-foot rule, given New York’s impending all electric construction mandate. The law requires that utility companies supply gas to any customer who wants it with the cost falling on ratepayers if they are within 100 feet of an existing line and advocates blame the rule for contributing to rate hikes.

“We still have a law on the books that says you still have to build gas pipes into the last 100 feet of a new building. Why? That’s useless,” she said.

State Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon carries the bill in the lower chamber and acknowledged the new one doesn’t have the same ring or name recognition as NY HEAT.

“It’s very uncatchy,” she confessed.

More importantly though, she feels it addresses concerns that largely came out of the Assembly. That includes household approval thresholds and other language to encourage localization at both the government and consumer level.

“A minimum of four hearings statewide in the original HEAT bill, we now have at least four hearings in each region. That’s many more hearings, many more opportunities,” she said.

The Assembly has until next Tuesday, June 17 to act on the bill.

Liz Moran, of the group Earth Justice, which has campaigned extensively for NY HEAT, is onboard, telling Spectrum News 1 that this is a palatable compromise.

“This is a reasonable pathway forward that we can support that’s going to cut these rate hikes that New Yorkers are seeing across the state,” she said.

But the new bill hasn’t addressed all concerns. The Business Council of New York State remains opposed, arguing it still raises serious questions about transition mandates and electrical grid reliability.

Assemblymember Phil Palmesano, ranking member on the Energy Committee, is still reviewing the bill, but was unimpressed Tuesday afternoon.

“They continue to change it because they keep realizing that their bill as the wrote it is not feasible, not reliable and not tenable but I’m still convinced they’re heading down the wrong path with this, we’re going to go through that bill with a fine tooth comb,” he said.

Because of time constraints, Krueger said lawmakers have also drafted a standalone repeal of the 100 foot rule incase this effort goes awry.