87R10993 JXC-D
By: Vasut H.B. No. 2786
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to load shedding participation for certain customers
during a rolling blackout.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 38, Utilities Code, is
amended by adding Section 38.074 to read as follows:
Sec. 38.074. EXCLUSION OF CRITICAL CUSTOMERS FROM ROLLING
BLACKOUTS. (a) In this section:
(1) "Assisted living facility" has the meaning
assigned by Section 247.002, Health and Safety Code.
(2) "Critical customer" means a customer for whom
electric service is considered crucial for the protection or
maintenance of public safety, including a:
(A) hospital facility licensed under Chapter
241, Health and Safety Code;
(B) nursing facility, assisted living facility,
or facility that provides hospice services;
(C) police or fire station; or
(D) critical water and wastewater facility.
(3) "Critical industrial or residential customer"
means:
(A) an industrial customer for whom an
interruption or suspension of electric service would create a
dangerous or life-threatening condition on the customer's
premises; or
(B) a residential customer who has a person
permanently residing in the customer's home who has been diagnosed
by a physician as:
(i) having a serious medical condition that
requires an electric-powered medical device or electric heating or
cooling to prevent the impairment of a major life function through a
significant deterioration or exacerbation of the person's medical
condition; or
(ii) being dependent upon an
electric-powered medical device to sustain life.
(4) "Hospice services" has the meaning assigned by
Section 142.001, Health and Safety Code.
(5) "Nursing facility" has the meaning assigned by
Section 242.301, Health and Safety Code.
(b) Except as provided by Subsections (c) and (d), the
commission by rule shall require each electric utility, municipally
owned utility, and electric cooperative that is subject to a
rolling blackout initiated by an independent organization
certified under Section 39.151 to:
(1) exclude any parts of the utility's or
cooperative's distribution system that provide power to a critical
customer from participation in the utility's or cooperative's
attempt to shed load; and
(2) rotate curtailment of all other parts of the
distribution system so that no customer is subject to an outage of
more than:
(A) 24 hours; or
(B) 12 hours during an extreme weather emergency,
as defined by Section 39.101.
(c) The commission may allow an electric utility,
municipally owned utility, or electric cooperative to maintain an
outage for more than 24 hours for a part of the distribution system
if necessary to supply critical customers.
(d) The commission may require that an electric utility,
municipally owned utility, or electric cooperative exclude a
critical industrial or residential customer from load shedding
under Subsection (b)(1).
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.