N.Y. PBS Law § 114

§ 114. Temporary rates. To facilitate prompt action by the commission\nin proceedings involving the reasonableness of the rates of any public\nutility and to avoid delay in any such rate proceeding, the commission\nis hereby authorized to require any public utility company to establish,\nprovide and maintain continuing property records, including a list or\ninventory of all of the physical property actually used in the public\nservice, and to require any public utility company to keep its books,\naccounts and records in such manner as to show currently the original\ncost of said physical property and the reserves accumulated to provide\nfor the retirement or replacement of said physical property.\n The commission may, in any such proceeding, brought either on its own\nmotion or upon complaint, upon notice and after hearing, if it be of\nopinion that the public interest so requires, immediately fix, determine\nand prescribe temporary rates to be charged by said utility company\npending the final determination of said rate proceeding. Said temporary\nrates so fixed, determined and prescribed shall be sufficient to provide\na return of not less than five per centum upon the original cost, less\naccrued depreciation, of the physical property of said public utility\ncompany used and useful in the public service, and if the duly verified\nreports of said utility company to the commission do not show the\noriginal cost, less accrued depreciation, of said property, the\ncommission may estimate said cost less depreciation and fix, determine\nand prescribe rates as hereinbefore provided.\n Temporary rates so fixed, determined and prescribed under this section\nshall be effective until the rates to be charged, received and collected\nby said utility company shall finally have been fixed, determined and\nprescribed. The commission is hereby authorized in any proceeding in\nwhich temporary rates are fixed, determined and prescribed under this\nsection, to consider the effect of such rates in fixing, determining and\nprescribing rates to be thereafter charged and collected by said public\nutility company on final determination of the rate proceeding.\n