Section 12. Gas and electricity must be supplied on application

Except in
  the case of an application for residential utility service  pursuant  to
  article  two  of the public service law, upon written application of the
  owner or occupant of any building within one hundred feet of any main of
  a gas corporation or gas and electric  corporation,  or  a  line  of  an
  electric corporation or gas and electric corporation, appropriate to the
  service  requested,  and payment by him of all money due from him to the
  corporation, it shall supply gas or electricity as may be  required  for
  lighting such building, notwithstanding there be rent or compensation in
  arrears  for  gas  or  electricity supplied, or for meter, wire, pipe or
  fittings furnished, to a former occupant thereof, unless such  owner  or
  occupant shall have undertaken or agreed with the former occupant to pay
  or  to  exonerate him from the payment of such arrears, and shall refuse
  or neglect to pay the same; and if for the space of ten days after  such
  application, and the deposit of a reasonable sum as provided in the next
  section,  if required, the corporation shall refuse or neglect to supply
  gas or electric light as required, such corporation  shall  forfeit  and
  pay to the applicant the sum of ten dollars, and the further sum of five
  dollars  for  every  day thereafter during which such refusal or neglect
  shall continue; provided that no such corporation shall be  required  to
  lay  service pipes or wires for the purpose of supplying gas or electric
  light to any applicant where the ground in which such pipe  or  wire  is
  required  to be laid shall be frozen, or shall otherwise present serious
  obstacles to laying the same; nor unless  the  applicant,  if  required,
  shall  deposit in advance with the corporation a sum of money sufficient
  to pay the cost of his proportion of the pipe,  conduit,  duct  or  wire
  required  to  be  installed, and the expense of the installation of such
  portion.