89R15023 CXP-D
By: McQueeney H.B. No. 4627
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to electric service quality and reliability.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 36.402, Utilities Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(b-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), the commission may
not authorize an electric utility to receive a return on equity for
repaired or replaced damaged infrastructure that the commission
determines the utility should have reasonably anticipated could
have been damaged by the weather-related event or natural disaster.
SECTION 2. Section 38.005(b), Utilities Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The commission may take appropriate enforcement action
under this section, including action against a utility, if any of
the utility's feeders with 10 or more customers has had a SAIDI or
SAIFI average that is more than 200 [300] percent greater than the
system average of all feeders during any two-year period[,
beginning in the year 2000]. In determining the appropriate
enforcement action, the commission shall consider:
(1) the feeder's operating and maintenance history;
(2) the cause of each interruption in the feeder's
service;
(3) the duration of each interruption in the feeder's
service;
(4) any action taken by a utility to address the
feeder's performance;
(5) [(4)] the estimated cost and benefit of
remediating a feeder's performance; and
(6) [(5)] any other relevant factor as determined by
the commission.
SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 38, Utilities Code, is
amended by adding Section 38.006 to read as follows:
Sec. 38.006. STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY STANDARDS FOR
TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION POLES. (a) This section applies
only to an electric utility, municipally owned utility, or electric
cooperative that operates transmission or distribution assets.
(b) The commission by rule shall adopt standards for the
structural integrity of transmission and distribution poles.
(c) The standards adopted under this section must:
(1) require an electric utility, municipally owned
utility, or electric cooperative to inspect transmission and
distribution poles and take appropriate remedial action as
necessary on a timeline established by the commission;
(2) account for geographic differences between
regions of the state;
(3) consider national guidelines such as the National
Electrical Safety Code and guidelines developed by the Rural
Utilities Service of the United States Department of Agriculture;
and
(4) establish a classification system to assess the
serviceability of transmission and distribution poles.
(d) Each electric utility, municipally owned utility, and
electric cooperative shall submit to the commission an annual
report on:
(1) the implementation of the utility's or
cooperative's transmission and distribution pole maintenance
schedule;
(2) the results of the utility's or cooperative's
inspection of transmission and distribution poles, including any
remediation or replacement action taken; and
(3) any other information the commission requires.
SECTION 4. The heading to Subchapter E, Chapter 38,
Utilities Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER E. INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT AND MAINTENANCE [REPORT]
SECTION 5. Section 38.101(a), Utilities Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Not later than May 1 of each year, each electric utility
shall submit to the commission a report describing the utility's
activities related to:
(1) identifying areas that are susceptible to damage
during severe weather and hardening transmission and distribution
facilities in those areas; and
(2) vegetation management[; and
[(3) inspecting distribution poles].
SECTION 6. (a) The changes in law made by this Act to
Section 38.005, Utilities Code, apply only to an enforcement action
initiated by the Public Utility Commission of Texas on or after the
effective date of this Act. An enforcement action initiated before
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect
immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) In adopting rules under Section 38.006, Utilities Code,
as added by this Act, the Public Utility Commission of Texas shall
allow an electric utility, electric cooperative, or municipally
owned utility to complete any required inspection, remediation, or
replacement of transmission and distribution poles installed
before the effective date of the rules according to a reasonable
timeline approved by the commission that allows the utility or
cooperative to prioritize high-risk transmission and distribution
poles.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.