| 1 | 1 | | 89R4027 SCR-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Lalani H.B. No. 842 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to a study and report on burying power lines in the Gulf |
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| 10 | 10 | | Coast region. |
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| 11 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. In this Act: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (1) "Commission" means the Public Utility Commission |
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| 14 | 14 | | of Texas. |
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| 15 | 15 | | (2) "Study area" means the area in the state located |
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| 16 | 16 | | within 150 miles of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. |
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| 17 | 17 | | SECTION 2. FINDINGS. The legislature finds that: |
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| 18 | 18 | | (1) the study area is prone to weather-related power |
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| 19 | 19 | | outages; |
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| 20 | 20 | | (2) underground power lines are more resistant than |
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| 21 | 21 | | overhead power lines to extreme weather conditions; and |
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| 22 | 22 | | (3) burying power lines in the study area could reduce |
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| 23 | 23 | | the number of weather-related power outages in the study area. |
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| 24 | 24 | | SECTION 3. STUDY. The commission shall evaluate for the |
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| 25 | 25 | | study area the potential: |
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| 26 | 26 | | (1) cost of burying existing overhead power lines; |
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| 27 | 27 | | (2) cost of maintaining and repairing underground |
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| 28 | 28 | | power lines; |
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| 29 | 29 | | (3) cost savings associated with reduced |
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| 30 | 30 | | weather-related power outages; and |
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| 31 | 31 | | (4) use of technologies developed or tested in the |
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| 32 | 32 | | Department of Energy's Grid Overhaul with Proactive, High-Speed |
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| 33 | 33 | | Undergrounding for Reliability, Resilience, and Security program |
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| 34 | 34 | | in the study area. |
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| 35 | 35 | | SECTION 4. REPORT. The commission shall submit a report of |
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| 36 | 36 | | the results of the study and any recommendations to the governor, |
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| 37 | 37 | | lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives |
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| 38 | 38 | | not later than September 1, 2026. |
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| 39 | 39 | | SECTION 5. EXPIRATION DATE. This Act expires October 31, |
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| 40 | 40 | | 2026. |
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| 41 | 41 | | SECTION 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect September |
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| 42 | 42 | | 1, 2025. |
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