By: Turner of Harris H.B. No. 1695
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the requirement that electric utilities create and
implement a plan for infrastructure improvement and maintenance.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 38, Utilities Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter E to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER E. INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT AND MAINTENANCE PLAN
Sec. 38.101. PLAN FOR INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT AND
MAINTENANCE. (a) Not later than January 1, 2010, each electric
utility shall file with the commission a plan for infrastructure
improvement and maintenance that minimizes the utility's risk of
experiencing an extended power outage during severe weather.
(b) The commission shall prescribe the details required to
be included in each electric utility's plan submitted under
Subsection (a), based on:
(1) the utility's susceptibility to specific types of
severe weather likely to occur in the utility's service area;
(2) the age of the utility's infrastructure;
(3) the utility's history of extended power outages
caused by severe weather; and
(4) the potential improvements in preparation and
response that are available to the utility.
(c) At a minimum, the commission shall require that each
utility's plan submitted under Subsection (a) include:
(1) an established vegetation management cycle for the
clearing of trees, tree limbs, and other vegetative growth from
utility line easements and utility structures;
(2) a customer outreach program that educates property
owners on proper vegetation management near electric utility
structures;
(3) a program for the inspection of transmission
structures;
(4) a system for identifying areas that are
susceptible to damage during severe weather and modifying
transmission structures in those areas, including identifying and
replacing wooden poles in those areas with poles made of more
durable materials;
(5) a system for designating high-load transmission
and distribution areas and identifying potential improvements to
infrastructure to prevent damage during severe weather;
(6) a system for determining the cost-effectiveness of
placing future electricity lines underground;
(7) a plan that allows for or requires the expansion or
installation of underground utility infrastructure to be
coordinated with the repair, expansion, or installation activities
of other owners of underground facilities, including
municipalities, gas utilities, and pipeline companies;
(8) a plan for the use of distributed generation
technologies and advanced meter technologies that prevent, detect,
and report the failure of grid facilities and assist in the repair
of those facilities;
(9) a priority plan for the restoration of critical
facilities in areas that are particularly prone to severe weather,
including:
(A) facilities belonging to emergency response
providers;
(B) hospitals;
(C) water and wastewater treatment facilities;
and
(D) municipal service facilities;
(10) a plan to inform state and local officials of an
extended power outage, the utility's restoration efforts, and the
expected duration and severity of the outage; and
(11) a plan to insure that the utility has a sufficient
number of trained and skilled employees to insure the adequate
maintenance and reliability of the utility's infrastructure,
including a plan to meet both short- and long-term personnel needs.
(d) For each specific program or project included in a plan
submitted under Subsection (a), the utility shall include
sufficient detail to allow the commission to accept, modify, or
reject an individual program or project based on factors such as
anticipated cost or benefit.
Sec. 38.102. APPROVAL OF PLAN; HEARING. (a) On the filing
of a plan under Section 38.101, the commission shall provide notice
to interested parties and an opportunity for a hearing. An entity
with facilities attached to the infrastructure of an electric
utility submitting a plan shall be included in the notice and
opportunity for hearing and shall be permitted to submit
information regarding factors such as anticipated cost or benefit
as provided in Section 38.101(d).
(b) The commission shall review and approve a new plan or an
updated plan not later than the 30th day after the date the
commission provides the notice required by Subsection (a), unless a
request for a hearing is filed before the end of that period.
(c) If a request for a hearing is filed within the period
prescribed by Subsection (b), the commission shall hold a hearing
on the plan and shall issue an order approving the plan, approving
the plan with modifications, or rejecting the entire plan, not
later than the 120th day after the date the plan is filed. If the
commission does not issue an order regarding a plan within that
120-day period, the plan is considered approved.
(d) If the commission rejects an electric utility's plan for
infrastructure improvement and maintenance, or approves the plan
with modifications, the commission shall include in the order a
detailed explanation of the reasons the plan was rejected or
modified. If the commission rejects an electric utility's plan,
the electric utility shall file a new plan and seek commission
approval of the new plan. If the commission approves a utility's
plan with modifications, the electric utility may:
(1) accept the modifications and proceed under the
plan as modified; or
(2) withdraw its plan, file a new plan, and seek
commission approval of the new plan.
(e) The commission's approval of a plan, or approval of a
plan with modifications that are accepted by an electric utility,
does not:
(1) preclude the electric utility from filing a new
plan before the utility is required to update an approved plan under
Section 38.103; or
(2) affect the duty of the electric utility to prove in
a ratemaking proceeding that expenditures made pursuant to the plan
were reasonable, necessary, and prudently incurred.
(f) An expenditure made by an electric utility pursuant to a
plan filed under this section may be recovered by the utility in a
ratemaking proceeding under Chapter 36.
Sec. 38.103. RENEWAL AND REVIEW OF PLAN. (a) An electric
utility that files a plan for infrastructure improvement and
maintenance required by Section 38.101 shall:
(1) file with the commission a semiannual report
detailing the status of the programs and projects detailed in the
plan; and
(2) file an updated plan with the commission every six
years for the commission's approval.
(b) To prepare an electric utility for future severe
weather, the commission shall evaluate the effectiveness of an
electric utility's plan for infrastructure improvement and
maintenance after each occurrence of severe weather that affects
the utility's service area.
SECTION 2. (a) The Public Utility Commission of Texas shall
adopt rules consistent with this Act not later than October 1, 2009.
(b) Not later than January 1, 2010, each electric utility
shall file with the Public Utility Commission of Texas a proposed
plan for infrastructure and improvement as required by Subchapter
E, Chapter 38, Utilities Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.