Virtual Public Statement Hearing Set Regarding Renewal of Liberty Utilities Corp. Gas Franchises

ALBANY — The New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) will hold a virtual public statement hearing on Tuesday, November 29, 2022, regarding renewal of Liberty Utilities (St. Lawrence Gas) Corp. gas franchises with the Town and Village of Gouverneur and the Town of Edwards, in St. Lawrence County.

On September 2, 2022, St. Lawrence Gas filed a petition, pursuant to Public Service Law §68 and Parts 17 and 21 of New York Codes, Rules and Regulations, seeking an expedited order granting the company a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) to exercise renewed gas franchises with the Town and Village of Gouverneur and the Town of Edwards. The company entered into renewed gas franchise agreements with each of the municipalities on July 7, 2022, which collectively allow Liberty to continue to provide gas service to businesses and residential customers in the municipalities. The Commission granted the original CPCN on July 17, 1996. The company’s petition may be viewed on the Commission’s website at www.dps.ny.gov. To access all filed documents in this case, click on “Search” and enter “22-G-0505” in the “Search by Case Number” field.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a virtual public statement hearing will be held before Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Lindsey Overton as follows:

DATE: TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2022

TIME: 1:00 P.M.

Electronic Access: www.webex.com

Event Number: 2341 594 9067

Password: Nov29-1pm

Phone-Only Access: 518-549-0500

Access Code: 2341 594 9067

Any person wishing to provide a public statement on the record at the hearing must pre-register to do so by 3:00 p.m. on Monday, November 28, 2022.

To pre-register and provide a statement electronically:

Participants who would like to provide a statement and will log in to the hearing electronically must pre-register by the date and time indicated above, by visiting www.webex.com, where they should click “Join” at the top right-hand corner of the screen, enter the event number listed above and provide all requested information.

When logging in on the date and time of the hearing, participants will be asked to “select audio system.” It is recommended that participants opt to have the system “call me” or “call using computer.” The “call me” option will require that participants enter their phone numbers.

To pre-register and provide a statement by phone:

Any participant who is not able to log in to the hearing electronically may participate by phone. Call-in participants wishing to provide a statement must pre-register by the date and time indicated above by calling 1-800-342-3330, where they should follow prompts to the appropriate hearing and provide the following information: first and last name, address, and phone number.

On the date and time of the hearing, all call-in participants should dial 518-549-0500 and enter the access code listed above.

The public statement hearing will be held open until everyone who has registered to speak has been heard or other reasonable arrangements to submit comments into the record have been made. Time limits may be set for each speaker, as necessary. It is also recommended that lengthy comments be submitted in writing and summarized for oral presentation. A verbatim transcript of the public statement hearing will be made for inclusion in the record of this case.

Persons with disabilities requiring special accommodations should call the Department of Public Service’s Human Resources Management Office at 518-474-2520 as soon as possible. TDD users may request a sign language interpreter by placing a call through the New York Relay Service at 711. Individuals with difficulty understanding or reading English are encouraged to call the Department at 1-800-342-3377 for free language assistance services regarding this notice.

Other Ways to Comment

For those who cannot attend or prefer not to speak at the public statement hearing, there are several other ways to provide your comments. Comments should refer to Case “22-G-0505.” Although comments will be accepted throughout the course of this proceeding, they are requested on or before December 5, 2022.

Internet or Mail: Go to www.dps.ny.gov, click on “Search,” enter “Case 22-G-0505” in the “Search by Case Number” field, and then click on “Post Comments” at the top of the page.

Alternatively, comments may be mailed to the Hon. Michelle L. Phillips, Secretary, Public Service Commission, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York, 12223-1350. All written comments will become part of the record considered by the Commission and may be accessed on the Department of Public Service website by searching the case number, as described above, and clicking on the “Public Comments” tab.

Toll-Free Opinion Line: You may call the Commission’s Opinion Line at 1-800-335-2120. This number is set up to take comments about pending cases from in-State callers 24 hours a day. These comments are not transcribed verbatim, but a summary is provided to the Commission.

PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that a procedural conference will be held immediately following the public statement hearing on November 29, 2022.

The principal purposes of the procedural conference are to identify any potential parties and provide interested persons an opportunity to present and explain any proposals regarding the procedures they believe should be followed in this case by the ALJ and Commission including, but not limited to, whether any issues of fact presented by the petition or public comments warrant an evidentiary hearing. Other procedural issues also may be addressed.

Access information for the procedural conference is as stated above. The public statement hearing and procedural conference will be conducted as parts of the same WebEx and conference call.

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