Bill Text: NJ A3532 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Directs BPU to adopt best practices and standards for public utility disaster response.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-12-06 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee [A3532 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-A3532-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman SEAN T. KEAN
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)
Assemblyman DAVID P. RIBLE
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Directs BPU to adopt best practices and standards for public utility disaster response.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning public utility disaster response and supplementing Title 48 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. "Board" means the Board of Public Utilities or any successor agency.
"Interruption" means the cessation of electric, gas, or water public utility service to one or more customers.
"Major catastrophic event" means a natural or humanly caused occurrence arising from conditions beyond the control of the public utility, including, but not limited to, a thunderstorm, tornado, hurricane, flood, heat wave, snowstorm, ice storm, or an earthquake, which results in: (1) a sustained interruption of utility service to at least 10 percent of the customers in an operating area or 10 percent of the customers of a municipality or county located in an operating area; or (2) the declaration of a state of emergency or disaster by the State or by the federal government.
"Public utility" means a public utility as that term is defined in R.S.48:2-13 that is investor owned and is regulated under the jurisdiction of the Board of Public Utilities
2. a. Within 90 days of the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the board shall initiate a proceeding and shall adopt, after notice and opportunity for public comment and public hearing, standards concerning public utility infrastructure design and public utility response to service interruptions resulting from a major catastrophic event which shall include, at a minimum:
(1) infrastructure design standards for improvements or upgrades, as appropriate, to equipment and infrastructure vulnerable to damage from a major catastrophic event which standards shall include: (a) recommendations for the repositioning or sheltering of substations located in areas vulnerable to flooding as the result of a major catastrophic event; and (b) the replacement of outdated substation equipment, transformers, transmission and distribution lines, and other related equipment and components of infrastructure;
(2) consistent with federal law, standards for vegetation management which shall include the prompt removal of downed trees and vegetation which, due to the occurrence of a major catastrophic event, may be detrimental to public safety or is the cause, or potential cause, of service interruptions; and
(3) standards concerning staff training and staffing levels which shall include: (a) staff training and exercises in the development and utilization of secondary roles for response to service interruptions, damage, and emergency situations resulting from a major catastrophic event; and (b) retention and availability of staff levels and assistance from appropriately trained staff from other states and utilities for utilization in response to a major catastrophic event.
b. The standards adopted pursuant to this section shall be consistent with applicable industry best practices and standards. In developing the standards, the board shall take into consideration: (1) those standards applied throughout the nation and in other countries which may be applied to the electric, gas, and water infrastructure in this State; and (2) federal guides and protocols concerning utility service interruption response and infrastructure design.
c. The board shall require each public utility to report annually on its compliance with the standards adopted pursuant to this section, and the public utility shall make these reports available to the public.
3. The board shall adopt a schedule of penalties for violations of the standards adopted pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
4. This act shall take effect on the 60th day following enactment, but the Board of Public Utilities may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill directs the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to adopt standards concerning electric, gas, and water public utility infrastructure design and response to service interruptions resulting from a major catastrophic event which is defined to mean a natural or humanly caused occurrence arising from conditions beyond the control of the public utility, including, but not limited to, a thunderstorm, tornado, hurricane, flood, heat wave, snowstorm, ice storm, or an earthquake, which results in: (1) a sustained interruption of utility service to at least 10 percent of the customers in an operating area or 10 percent of the customers of a municipality or county located in an operating area; or (2) the declaration of a state of emergency or disaster by the State or by the federal government.
The standards would include, at a minimum: (1) infrastructure design standards for improvements or upgrades to equipment and infrastructure vulnerable to damage from a major catastrophic event including: (a) recommendations for repositioning or sheltering of substations located in areas vulnerable to flooding as the result of a major catastrophic event; and (b) replacement of outdated substation equipment, transformers, transmission and distribution lines, and other related equipment and components of infrastructure; (2) consistent with federal law, standards for vegetation management which would include the prompt removal of downed trees and vegetation which, due to the occurrence of a major catastrophic event, may be detrimental to public safety or is the cause, or potential cause, of service interruptions; and (3) standards concerning staff training and levels which would include: (a) staff training and exercises in the development and utilization of secondary roles for response to service interruptions, damage, and emergency situations resulting from a major catastrophic event; and (b) retention and availability of staff levels and assistance from appropriately trained staff from other states and utilities for utilization in response to a major catastrophic event.
The standards must be consistent with applicable industry best practices and standards. In developing the standards, the BPU is directed to take into consideration: (1) those standards applied throughout the nation and in other countries which may be applied to the electric, gas, and water infrastructure in New Jersey; and (2) federal guides and protocols concerning utility service interruption response and infrastructure design. Public utilities are required to report annually on their compliance with the standards and shall make these reports available to the public.
The bill directs the BPU to adopt a schedule of penalties for violations of standards adopted pursuant to the bill's provisions.
