Senate Bill No. 469
Special Act No. 19-15
AN ACT REQUIRING THE PUBLIC UTILITIES REG ULATORY
AUTHORITY TO STUDY P ERFORMANCE STANDARDS AND
MINIMUM STAFFING AND EQUIPMENT LEVELS FOR ELECTRIC
DISTRIBUTION COMPANI ES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (Effective July 1, 2019) (a) The chairperson of the Public
Utilities Regulatory Authority shall conduct a study regarding (1)
industry-specific standards for acceptable performance by an electric
distribution company in an emergency, and (2) minimum staffing and
equipment levels for each electric distribution company that operates
in the state, based on the number of customers served by such electric
distribution company and the nature of the infrastructure deployed to
serve such electric distribution company's customers in an emergency
in which more than ten per cent of such electric distribution company's
customers are without service for more than forty-eight consecutive
hours. Such study shall include, for each electric distribution company
that operates in the state, a review of (A) the current practices
concerning service restoration after an emergency, which shall include,
but not be limited to, an analysis of each electric distribution
company's (i) estimates concerning potential damage and service
outages prior to any emergency, (ii) damage and service outage
assessments after any emergency, (iii) restoration management after Senate Bill No. 469
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any emergency, including, but not limited to, access to alternate
restoration resources through regional and reciprocal aid contracts, (iv)
plans for at-risk and vulnerable customers, (v) policies concerning
communication with state and local officials and customers, including,
but not limited to, individual customer restoration estimates and the
timeliness and usefulness of such estimates, and (vi) need for mutual
assistance during any emergency, (B) the adequacy of the electric
distribution company's infrastructure, facilities and equipment, which
shall include, but not be limited to, an analysis of whether such electric
distribution company (i) is following standard industry practice for the
operation and maintenance of such infrastructure, facilities and
equipment, and (ii) has access to adequate replacement equipment for
such infrastructure, facilities and equipment during the course of such
emergency, (C) any current policies and procedures for coordination
efforts between the electric distribution company and any
telecommunications company, community antenna television
company, holder of a certificate of cable franchise authority or certified
competitive video service provider, including, but not limited to,
coordinated planning before any emergency, (D) any other policy,
practice or information that the authority determines is relevant to the
review of the electric distribution company's ability to ensure the
reliability of such electric distribution company's services in an
emergency and to prevent, minimize and restore any service outages
or disruptions that last for more than forty-eight consecutive hours
caused by such emergency, and (E) the staffing and equipment levels
related to the restoration of electric service after a service outage of the
electric distribution company from January 1, 1990, to the present,
provided the authority may review such levels for additional years,
and provided that such review shall include a review of the number of
line crew workers and shall distinguish between (i) line crew workers
directly employed by the electric distribution company and working
full time within the state, (ii) line crew workers directly employed by
the electric distribution company working primarily in another state, Senate Bill No. 469
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and (iii) line crew workers hired as contractors or subcontractors.
(b) Not later than January 1, 2020, the chairperson of the Public
Utilities Regulatory Authority, in accordance with section 11-4a of the
general statutes, shall report the results of the study conducted
pursuant to subsection (a) of this section to the joint standing
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters
relating to energy and technology.