Bill Text: NJ A3984 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Directs BPU to require electric public utilities to protect electric distribution and transmission system from human-caused and solar electromagnetic pulses.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-05-12 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee [A3984 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A3984-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman RONALD S. DANCER
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Directs BPU to require electric public utilities to protect electric distribution and transmission system from human-caused and solar electromagnetic pulses.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the electric distribution and transmission system and supplementing Title 48 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The board shall, in consultation with the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), promulgate rules and regulations requiring electric public utilities to take certain measures to protect the electric distribution and transmission system in this State from human-caused and solar electromagnetic pulses. In addition to any other requirements the board deems necessary, the rules and regulations shall require each utility to:
(1) compile an inventory of unused transformers and unused distribution and transmission wires throughout the utility's service territory;
(2) identify the grid facilities, such as substations, that are most critical to service restoration and recovery in the event of a human-caused or solar electromagnetic pulse;
(3) consult with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, PJM Interconnection, L.L.C., and any other public or private agency necessary for the purposes of developing best practices concerning hardening critical electric distribution and transmission system infrastructure from a human-caused or solar electromagnetic pulse;
(4) compile and annually update a list of former utility employees and private companies that may provide services and supplies in the event of a human-caused or solar electromagnetic pulse;
(5) develop strategic stockpiles within the utility's service territory of critical electrical equipment that may be necessary in the event of a human-caused or solar electromagnetic pulse; and
(6) collaborate with other utilities in this State and transmission operators to develop a training plan to de-electrify or block current in New Jersey's electric distribution and transmission lines that are at risk of being damaged in the event of a human-caused or solar electromagnetic pulse.
b. Within one year of the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and annually thereafter, each utility shall report to the board, in a form and manner determined by the board, on the measures taken to meet the requirements of subsection a. of this section.
c. As used in this section:
"Board" shall mean the Board of Public Utilities or any successor agency.
"Electric public utility" or "utility" shall mean an electric public utility, as defined in R.S.48:2-13, that distributes electricity to customers in this State.
"Geomagnetic storm" means a solar wind that causes a temporary disturbance of the Earth's magnetic field.
"Human-caused electromagnetic pulse" means a burst of electromagnetic energy caused by a device made by human beings, which includes, but is not limited to, small hand-held devices designed to effect electronics locally or nuclear devices that, when detonated, effect electronics on a wide-spread scale.
"Solar electromagnetic pulse" means a burst of electromagnetic energy caused by an abrupt rapid acceleration of charged particles as the result of a geomagnetic storm.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Board of Public Utilities (BPU), in consultation with the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, to promulgate rules and regulations requiring electric public utilities to take certain measures to protect the electric distribution and transmission system in this State from human-caused and solar electromagnetic pulses (EMP). The rules and regulations are to require each electric public utility to:
1) compile an inventory of unused transformers and unused distribution and transmission wires throughout the utility's service territory;
2) identify the grid facilities, such as substations, that are most critical to service restoration and recovery in the event of a human-caused or solar EMP;
3) consult with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, PJM Interconnection, L.L.C., and any other public or private agency necessary for the purposes of developing best practices concerning hardening critical electric distribution and transmission system infrastructure from a human-caused or solar EMP;
4) compile and annually update a list of former utility employees and private companies that may provide services and supplies in the event of a human-caused or solar EMP;
5) develop strategic stockpiles within the utility's service territory of critical electrical equipment that may be necessary in the event of a human-caused or solar EMP; and
6) collaborate with other utilities in this State and transmission operators to develop a training plan to de-electrify or block current in New Jersey's electric distribution and transmission lines that are at risk of being damaged in the event of a human-caused or solar EMP.
Within one year of the effective date of the bill, and annually thereafter, each electric public utility is to report to the BPU on the measures taken to effective the requirements of the bill.
EMPs, whether human-caused or caused as a result of a solar storm, have the potential to effect the electrical grid with widespread negative consequences. EMPs can disrupt or destroy electrical devices, including grid infrastructure, leading to blackouts that could last for days, weeks, or even years. Given the nature of our society and our reliance on electricity for the facilitation of day-to-day life, a long-term blackout would potentially cause, among other things, widespread starvation and social unrest. With a 100 percent likelihood of an EMP event occurring, it is imperative that electric public utilities in this State take the necessary precautionary steps to weather these electrical disruptions.
