New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 21 - Miscellaneous
Chapter XVIII - Delaware River Basin Commission
Subchapter E - Water Code
Part 890 - Conservation, Development And Utilization Of Delaware River Basin Water Resources
Conservation
Section 890.7 - Retail water pricing to encourage conservation
Universal Citation: 21 NY Comp Codes Rules and Regs ยง 890.7
Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
(a) Policy. It shall be the policy of the Delaware River Basin Commission to promote and support retail water pricing that encourages conservation.
(b) Definitions.
(1) A water conserving pricing
structure is an important demand management tool that provides incentives to
consumers to reduce average or peak water use, or both. Conservation pricing
reflects the fact that water is a precious resource that should be used in an
economically efficient manner. Such pricing includes:
(i) rates designed to recover the full cost
of providing service, including a reasonable rate of return on investment;
and
(ii) timely billing based on
metered usage.
Such pricing is also characterized by one or more of the following components:
(iii)
rates in which the unit price of water per class of customer (residential,
industrial, etc.) is constant within each class regardless of the quantity of
water used (uniform rates) or increases as the quantity of water used increases
(increasing block rates);
(iv)
seasonal rates or excess-use surcharges to reduce peak water demands during
summer months; or
(v) rates based
on the long-run marginal cost or the cost of adding the next unit of water
supply to the system.
(2) A nonconserving pricing structure is one
that provides no incentives or disincentives to consumers to reduce water use.
Such pricing may be characterized by one or more of the following components:
(i) rates in which the unit price of water
within any one class of customer decreases as the quantity of water used
increases (decreasing block rates);
(ii) rates that involve charging customers a
set fee per unit of time regardless of the quantity of water used (flat
rates);
(iii) pricing that does not
reflect the full cost of providing services; or
(iv) pricing in which the typical bill is
determined mainly by a minimum charge and metered usage has little impact on
the total bill.
(c) Criteria
(1) All purveyors are encouraged to evaluate
alternative pricing structures with the objective of adopting a water
conserving pricing structure.
(2) A
purveyor seeking approval under section
3.8 of the compact for a new or
expanded water withdrawal and whose proposed total withdrawal equals or exceeds
an average of one million gallons of water per day shall include in its water
conservation plan submitted as part of the application, an evaluation of the
feasibility of implementing a water conserving pricing structure and billing
program. A purveyor may limit the evaluation to less than its entire system
upon application and a determination that a review of its entire system is not
necessary. The evaluation shall, at a minimum, consider:
(i) the potential change in the quantity of
water demanded for customer classes and their end uses of water during both
peak and non-peak periods stemming from alternative water conservation pricing
structures;
(ii) the potential
revenue effects of the alternative pricing structures;
(iii) any legal or institutional changes
necessary or desirable to implement a water conservation pricing structure;
and
(iv) how conservation pricing
could be coordinated with other conservation programs and measures to reduce
both average and peak water use.
(3) The requirement set forth in paragraph
(2) of this subdivision shall be waived if the purveyor either documents it has
adopted a water conserving pricing structure or is in the process of
implementing such a pricing structure in accordance with a commission schedule
or a schedule established by the appropriate state public utility
commission.
(4) The Executive
Director, on or before June 30, 1993 and annually thereafter, shall review the
effectiveness of the retail water pricing activities hereunder to determine
their adequacy in promoting and supporting water pricing that encourages water
conservation. The results of such review and recommendations, if any, shall be
submitted to the commission for its consideration.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New York may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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