By: Hancock S.B. No. 1750
(In the Senate - Filed March 12, 2021; March 26, 2021, read
first time and referred to Committee on Business & Commerce;
April 19, 2021, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; April 19, 2021,
sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1750 By: Hancock
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to extreme weather preparedness of critical electric and
natural gas infrastructure; authorizing administrative penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Winter Storm Uri
revealed the interconnectedness of the gas and power industries in
the face of extreme weather and resolves to protect the citizens of
this state from similar events by requiring coordinated enforcement
by relevant regulatory bodies.
SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 86, Natural Resources
Code, is amended by adding Section 86.044 to read as follows:
Sec. 86.044. EXTREME WEATHER EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS. (a)
In this section, "extreme weather emergency" means a period when:
(1) the previous day's highest temperature did not
exceed 10 degrees Fahrenheit and the temperature is predicted to
remain at or below that level for the next 24 hours according to the
nearest National Weather Service reports; or
(2) the National Weather Service issues a heat
advisory for any county in the relevant service territory, or when
such an advisory has been issued on any one of the previous two
calendar days.
(b) The commission by rule shall require an operator of a
gas well to implement measures to prepare the well to operate during
an extreme weather emergency.
SECTION 3. Section 121.2015(a), Utilities Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The railroad commission shall adopt rules regarding:
(1) public education and awareness relating to gas
pipeline facilities; [and]
(2) community liaison for responding to an emergency
relating to a gas pipeline facility; and
(3) measures gas pipeline facility operators must
implement to prepare gas pipeline facilities to maintain service
quality and reliability during an extreme weather emergency, as
defined by Section 86.044, Natural Resources Code.
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 186, Utilities Code, is
amended by adding Section 186.008 to read as follows:
Sec. 186.008. WINTER WEATHER EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND
COORDINATION. (a) In this section:
(1) "Coordinating agency" means the Public Utility
Commission of Texas, the Railroad Commission of Texas, or the Texas
Division of Emergency Management.
(2) "Coordinated entity" means a power generation
company as defined by Section 31.002, the independent organization,
or an entity engaged in the transport, storage, or shipping of
natural gas to or for a power generation company.
(3) "Independent organization" means the independent
organization certified under Section 39.151 for the ERCOT power
region.
(b) The Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Railroad
Commission of Texas each by rule shall require each coordinated
entity subject to the agency's jurisdiction to establish and submit
to the respective agency a winter preparedness emergency operations
plan. The rules must require a winter preparedness emergency
operations plan to include:
(1) a plan for operating during extremely cold
weather;
(2) a plan that addresses any known critical failure
points of the entity, including any effects of weather design
limits;
(3) a plan for operating during an emergency shortage
of water or other critical supplies;
(4) a plan for identifying potentially extreme weather
events;
(5) a plan for staffing during extreme weather events;
(6) natural gas curtailment priorities and
procedures, if applicable;
(7) a description of priorities for recovery of
operational capacity or restoration of service, as applicable;
(8) identification of critical loads necessary to
maintain production of electricity or natural gas;
(9) a communications plan that describes the
procedures and threshold conditions for initiation of
communication about a potential extreme weather event with the
coordinating agencies, other coordinated entities, the public, the
media, and customers; and
(10) an affidavit from an owner, partner, officer,
manager, or other official with responsibility for the entity's
operations affirming that all relevant operating personnel of the
entity are familiar with the contents of the emergency operations
plan and that the personnel will follow the plan, except to the
extent deviations are appropriate under the circumstances during an
emergency.
(c) An emergency operations plan may be combined or
coordinated with other preparedness reporting requirements,
including requirements regarding other weather scenarios, natural
disasters, cybersecurity events, physical security events, and
pandemics. A coordinating agency may authorize a coordinated
entity to submit for the purposes of this section a plan required to
be submitted to the agency under another provision of law if the
plan includes the information required by this section to be
included in an emergency operations plan.
(d) The coordinating agencies shall analyze jointly
emergency operations plans developed by coordinated entities in
each even-numbered year and prepare a weather emergency
preparedness report on power generation and natural gas
weatherization preparedness in this state. In preparing the
report, the coordinating agencies shall:
(1) review the emergency operations plans on file with
each of the coordinating agencies;
(2) analyze and determine the ability of the electric
grid and natural gas system to withstand extreme weather events in
the upcoming biennium;
(3) consider the anticipated weather patterns for the
upcoming biennium; and
(4) make recommendations on improving emergency
operations plans and procedures to ensure the continuity of
electric and natural gas service, including identifying and
defining potentially appropriate weatherization and emergency
operations standards, that may:
(A) differentiate between existing and new
facilities; and
(B) consider geography, suitable alternatives,
cost-effectiveness, and other practical constraints.
(e) A coordinating agency may require a coordinated entity
subject to the agency's jurisdiction and this section to file an
updated emergency operations plan if the coordinating agency finds
that an emergency operations plan on file does not contain
sufficient information to determine whether the coordinated entity
can provide adequate services.
(f) Each coordinating agency may adopt rules relating to the
implementation of the report described by Subsection (d).
(g) The coordinating agencies shall submit the report
described by Subsection (d) to the lieutenant governor, the speaker
of the house of representatives, and the members of the legislature
not later than September 30 of each even-numbered year. The
coordinating agencies may combine a report required by this section
with a report required to be produced by a coordinating agency by
another provision of law when making the submission required by
this subsection.
(h) An emergency operations plan submitted to a state agency
under this section is confidential under Chapters 418 and 552,
Government Code, and any other applicable law, and is not subject to
disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code. If portions of a
plan are directly referenced in the report described by Subsection
(d), the information must be in a redacted form for public
inspection with the confidential portions removed. A coordinated
entity in the ERCOT power region shall provide the entity's entire
plan to the independent organization. The independent organization
shall maintain the confidentiality of the plan.
(i) The Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Railroad
Commission of Texas each shall notify coordinated entities under
their respective jurisdictions of any potential deficiencies in
entity emergency operations plans and describe any applicable
winter weatherization and emergency operations standards
recommended by the coordinating agencies. Not later than the 30th
day after the date a coordinated entity receives notice under this
subsection, the entity in writing shall acknowledge to the Public
Utility Commission of Texas or the Railroad Commission of Texas, as
applicable, that the entity received the notice.
(j) The Public Utility Commission of Texas or the Railroad
Commission of Texas, after notice and opportunity for hearing, may
impose an administrative penalty on a coordinated entity subject to
the agency's jurisdiction for failure to submit an emergency
operations plan or respond to a notice of potential deficiency by
the required time.
SECTION 5. The Railroad Commission of Texas shall adopt
rules as required by Section 86.044, Natural Resources Code, as
added by this Act, and Section 121.2015(a), Utilities Code, as
amended by this Act, not later than November 1, 2021.
SECTION 6. Not later than January 1, 2022, the Public
Utility Commission of Texas and the Railroad Commission of Texas
shall adopt the rules required by Section 186.008, Utilities Code,
as added by this Act.
SECTION 7. The Railroad Commission of Texas is required to
implement this Act only if the legislature appropriates money
specifically for that purpose. If the legislature does not
appropriate money specifically for that purpose, the Railroad
Commission of Texas may, but is not required to, implement this Act
using other appropriations available for the purpose.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
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