§ 67-b. Excelsior power program. 1. As used in this section, the\nfollowing terms shall have the following meanings:\n (a) "Customer" means a residential recipient of retail electric or gas\nservice from an electric corporation, gas corporation, or combination\ngas and electric corporation.\n (b) "Smart thermostat" means an electronic device that has the\ncapability to be accessed and controlled remotely and also directly\nregulates heating and/or cooling appliances located within a dwelling to\nmaintain a thermostatic range.\n (c) "Utility" means an electric corporation, a gas corporation, or\ncombination electric and gas corporation as such terms are defined in\nsection two of this chapter and shall not include municipalities.\n (d) "Program" means the Excelsior power program designed to reduce\npeak energy demand established by this section.\n (e) "Customer information" means the personal information and data of\ncustomers.\n 2. (a) The commission shall establish a program, developed and\nadministered by the department, to reduce peak energy demand through the\nremote operation of voluntarily customer enrolled smart thermostats or\nother smart devices that reduce peak energy demand.\n (b) Following the establishment of the program, the department shall,\nsubject to appropriation, disburse available funds to utilities\nparticipating in the program for the purpose of providing bill credits\nto customers that have enrolled in the program.\n (c) One year after the establishment of the program and annually\nthereafter, for as long as the program remains active, the department\nshall prepare a public report on the functioning, efficiency and\nusefulness of the program in reducing peak energy demand, which shall\ninclude enrollment information, information on curtailment events, and\npotential recommendations to improve the program.\n (d) The department shall require that the program include:\n (i) a mechanism for customers to override the smart thermostat during\nextreme heat or cold events. No assessment of a fee, charge, or penalty\nto a customer or their account may be levied for overriding the smart\nthermostat during these or other demand response events, except that,\nany bill credits that are associated with a customer's involvement in\nthe program, may be discounted in a manner to be determined by the\ncommission that reflects the customer's limited involvement in the\nprogram; and\n (ii) criteria pertaining to the length of temperature adjustments,\nincluding taking account of the limited nature of demand response\nevents.\n (e) The utility or the commission may authorize a review, analysis, or\naudit of a utility's implementation of the program.\n 3. (a) Customer participation in the program shall be voluntary.\nCustomer enrollment in the program shall occur through the utility from\nwhich the customer receives service.\n (b) No utility shall enroll a customer in the program without the\ncustomer's affirmative consent, which shall be confirmed via written\nconsent that shall be maintained by the utility for seven years\nfollowing the customer's disenrollment in the program. Customer\nenrollment shall occur only via an opt-in process, and the utility shall\ninform customers of their rights and protections under the program.\n (c) A customer may disenroll from the program in a manner prescribed\nby the commission, provided that customers shall be offered a method of\ndisenrollment no less convenient than the method of enrollment. No\nassessment of a fee, charge, or penalty to the customer or their account\nmay be levied for disenrollment, except that, upon such disenrollment,\nany potential bill credits that may have been associated with a\ncustomer's enrollment in the program, shall cease, provided that any\ncredits earned but not yet applied to the customer's bill as of the date\nof disenrollment shall be applied to the customer's next bill.\n 4. (a) Customer information related to the program shall be t
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