Home Energy Fair Practices Act (HEFPA)

The Home Energy Fair Practices Act (HEFPA) provides residential energy customers with comprehensive protections in areas such as application for service, customer billing, and payment and complaint procedures.

In 2002, HEFPA (Public Service Law Article 2) was amended to apply the same consumer rights and protections to residential electric and natural gas customers of ESCOs and other energy entities as those afforded to utility consumers. These provisions ensure fair treatment of all residential energy customers, and serve to strengthen consumer protections and consumer confidence in the State’s competitive energy market.

The Commission issued an Order on June 6, 2004 adopting the changes to the HEFPA regulations in Title 16 NYCRR Parts 11 and 12, which also included guidance on the pro-ration of residential and small commercial customer payments on consolidated bills, that was further clarified in another Order on June 22, 2005.

All applicants filing for approval to be an ESCO or submeterer in New York, and who intend to provide energy supply to residential consumers, must file a package of HEFPA documents for a compliance review, as part of the eligibility process are listed below.

Home Energy Fair Practices Act (HEFPA) – Amendments of Chapter 686, the Laws of 2002

Cases 98-M-1343 and 99-M-0631/05-M-0117

Customer Billing Arrangements and Implementation of Chapter 686, the Laws of 2002, Pro-Ration of Customer Payments

The term utility throughout this page means any such gas corporation, electric corporation, gas and electric corporation, steam corporation, municipality, or any entity that, in any manner, sells or facilitates the sale, furnishing or provision of gas or electric commodity to residential customers; provided, however, that the term does not include any municipality that is exempt from Commission regulation by virtue of section 1005 (5)(g) of the Public Authorities Law.