S.B. No. 924
AN ACT
relating to the duties of certain utilities regarding energy
efficiency reports and emergency notification systems.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 39.9051, Utilities Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (f) and adding Subsections (g) and (h) to read
as follows:
(f) Beginning April [Not later than September] 1, 2012
[2009], a municipally owned utility must report each year to the
State Energy Conservation Office, on [in] a standardized form
developed by [and manner determined by the utility in consultation
with] the office, information regarding the combined effects of the
energy efficiency activities of the utility from the previous
calendar year, including the utility's annual goals, programs
enacted to achieve those goals, and any achieved energy demand or
savings goals.
(g) The State Energy Conservation Office shall provide the
reports made under Subsection (f) to the Energy Systems Laboratory
at the Texas Engineering Experiment Station of The Texas A&M
University System. The laboratory shall calculate the energy
savings and estimated pollution reductions that resulted from the
reported activities.
(h) The energy systems laboratory shall share the results of
the analysis with the Public Utility Commission of Texas, ERCOT,
the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality.
SECTION 2. Section 39.9052, Utilities Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read
as follows:
(b) Beginning April [Not later than September] 1, 2012
[2009], an electric cooperative that had retail sales of more than
500,000 megawatt hours in 2005 must report each year to the State
Energy Conservation Office, on [in] a standardized form developed
by [and manner determined by the electric cooperative in
consultation with] the office, information regarding the combined
effects of the energy efficiency activities of the electric
cooperative from the previous calendar year, including the electric
cooperative's annual goals, programs enacted to achieve those
goals, and any achieved energy demand or savings goals.
(c) The State Energy Conservation Office shall provide the
reports made under Subsection (b) to the Energy Systems Laboratory
at the Texas Engineering Experiment Station of The Texas A&M
University System. The laboratory shall calculate the energy
savings and estimated pollution reductions that resulted from the
reported activities.
(d) The energy systems laboratory shall share the results of
the analysis with the Public Utility Commission of Texas, ERCOT,
the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality.
SECTION 3. (a) Subchapter H, Chapter 418, Government Code,
is amended by adding Section 418.192 to read as follows:
Sec. 418.192. COMMUNICATIONS BY PUBLIC SERVICE PROVIDERS
DURING DISASTERS AND EMERGENCIES. (a) In this section:
(1) "Emergency" means a temporary, sudden, and
unforeseen occurrence that requires action by a public service
provider to correct the occurrence, inform others of the
occurrence, protect lives or property, or temporarily reduce demand
for or allocate supply of the provider's products or services to
ensure public safety or preserve the integrity of service delivery
mechanisms.
(2) "Public service provider" means any person or
entity that provides essential products or services to the public
that are regulated under the Natural Resources Code, Utilities
Code, or Water Code, including:
(A) common carriers under Section 111.002,
Natural Resources Code;
(B) telecommunications providers as defined by
Section 51.002, Utilities Code; and
(C) any other person or entity providing or
producing heat, light, power, or water.
(b) A public service provider may enter into a contract for
an emergency notification system described by this section for use
in informing the provider's customers, governmental entities, and
other affected persons regarding:
(1) notice of a disaster or emergency; and
(2) any actions a recipient is required to take during
a disaster or emergency.
(c) The emergency notification system for which a contract
is entered into under Subsection (b) must rely on a dynamic
information database that:
(1) is capable of simultaneous transmission of
emergency messages to all recipients through at least two
industry-standard gateways to one or more telephones or electronic
devices owned by a recipient in a manner that does not negatively
impact the existing communications infrastructure;
(2) allows the public service provider to:
(A) store prewritten emergency messages in the
dynamic information database for subsequent use; and
(B) generate emergency messages in real time
based on provider inputs;
(3) allows a recipient to select the language in which
the recipient would prefer to receive messages;
(4) transmits the message in the recipient's language
of choice to that recipient;
(5) converts text messages to sound files and
transmits those sound files to the appropriate device;
(6) assigns recipients to priority groups for
notification;
(7) allows for the collection and verification of
responses by recipients of emergency messages; and
(8) reads or receives alerts from a commercial mobile
alert system established by the Federal Communications Commission
or complies with standards adopted for a commercial mobile alert
system established by the Federal Communications Commission.
(d) The dynamic information database must comply with:
(1) the Telecommunications Service Priority program
established by the Federal Communications Commission; and
(2) the Federal Information Processing Standard 140-2
governing compliant cryptographic modules for encryption and
security issued by the National Institute of Standards and
Technology.
(e) Before sending a notice described by Subsection (b), a
public service provider must:
(1) provide a copy of the notice to the emergency
management director designated under Section 418.1015, for each
political subdivision for which the public service provider
provides services at the time of the notice; and
(2) during a disaster declared by the governor or
United States government, obtain approval of the notice from the
emergency management director designated under Section 418.1015,
for each political subdivision for which the public service
provider provides services during the disaster.
(f) A customer of a public service provider may decline to
receive the notices described by Subsection (b) by providing
written notice of that decision to the public service provider.
(g) A public service provider shall cooperate with
emergency management officials of each political subdivision in
which the public service provider provides services to survey the
number of notification systems in place.
(h) The requirements of this section do not apply to an
emergency notification system that is in use by a public service
provider on June 1, 2011.
(b) This section takes effect immediately if this Act
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 section takes effect September 1, 2011.
SECTION 4. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 924 passed the Senate on
April 21, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that
the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 27, 2011, by the
following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 924 passed the House, with
amendment, on May 23, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 143,
Nays 2, two present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor