Bill Text: NY A07541 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the contents of emergency response plans required to be submitted to the public service commission by electric corporations; requires such plans to include details of staffing, equipment, and ability to perform toward certain standards; requires the public service commission to establish a time-based restoration schedule.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-03-23 - REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS [A07541 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A07541-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7541

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      May 13, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. OTIS, ABINANTI, BURDICK, GALEF, PAULIN, ROZIC,
          SAYEGH, SEAWRIGHT, THIELE, ZEBROWSKI -- read once and referred to  the
          Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions

        AN  ACT  to amend the public service law, in relation to the contents of
          emergency response plans  required  to  be  submitted  to  the  public
          service commission by electric corporations

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 21 of section 66 of the public
     2  service law, as added by section 4 of part X of chapter 57 of  the  laws
     3  of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
     4    (a) Each electric corporation subject to section twenty-five-a of this
     5  chapter  shall  annually, on or before December fifteenth, submit to the
     6  commission an emergency response plan for review and approval. The emer-
     7  gency response plan shall be designed for the reasonably prompt restora-
     8  tion of service in the case of an emergency event, defined for  purposes
     9  of  this  subdivision as an event where widespread outages have occurred
    10  in the service territory of the company due to storms  or  other  causes
    11  beyond the control of the company. To support reasonably prompt restora-
    12  tion  of  service  in the case of an emergency event, emergency response
    13  plans should include details of staffing, equipment  and  a  performance
    14  schedule  with the goal of achieving restoration of service based upon a
    15  time-based restoration schedule established by the commission. In estab-
    16  lishing such time-based restoration  schedules,  the  commission  should
    17  utilize benchmarks for the restoration of service which include, but are
    18  not  limited  to, the percentage of customers restored within each twen-
    19  ty-four-hour interval following the storm and consideration of different
    20  kinds of storm events. The emergency response plan  shall  include,  but
    21  need not be limited to, the following: (i) the identification of manage-
    22  ment  staff responsible for company operations during an emergency; (ii)
    23  a communications system with customers during an emergency that  extends

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11344-01-1
        A. 7541                             2

     1  beyond  normal business hours and business conditions; (iii) identifica-
     2  tion of and outreach plans to customers who had  documented  their  need
     3  for  essential electricity for medical needs; (iv) identification of and
     4  outreach  plans to customers who had documented their need for essential
     5  electricity to provide critical telecommunications, critical transporta-
     6  tion, critical fuel distribution services or other large-load  customers
     7  identified by the commission; (v) designation of company staff to commu-
     8  nicate  with  local  officials and appropriate regulatory agencies; (vi)
     9  provisions regarding how the company  will  assure  the  safety  of  its
    10  employees  and  contractors;  (vii) procedures for deploying company and
    11  mutual aid crews to work  assignment  areas;  (viii)  identification  of
    12  additional  supplies  and equipment needed during an emergency; (ix) the
    13  means of obtaining additional supplies and equipment; (x) procedures  to
    14  practice  the  emergency  response plan; (xi) appropriate safety precau-
    15  tions regarding electrical hazards, including plans to  promptly  secure
    16  downed  wires within thirty-six hours of notification of the location of
    17  such downed wires from a municipal emergency official;  and  (xii)  such
    18  other  additional  information  as the commission may require. Each such
    19  corporation shall, on an annual  basis,  undertake  drills  implementing
    20  procedures to practice its emergency management plan. The commission may
    21  adopt  additional  requirements  consistent with ensuring the reasonably
    22  prompt restoration of service in the case of an emergency event.
    23    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.