Bill Text: NY S04960 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to strengthening of utility storm response and compliance by reviewing mitigating factors including but not limited to mitigating factors and the specifics surrounding the violation or violations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-05-31 - referred to corporations, authorities and commissions [S04960 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S04960-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4960 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 19, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sen. MAYER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to strengthening of utility storm response and compliance The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 25 of the public service law, as added by chapter 2 665 of the laws of 1980, subdivision 2, paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 3 and paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 as amended by chapter 375 of the laws 4 of 1986, is amended to read as follows: 5 § 25. Penalties. 1. Every public utility company, corporation or 6 person and the officers, agents and employees thereof shall obey and 7 comply with every provision of this chapter and every order or regu- 8 lation adopted under authority of this chapter so long as the same shall 9 be in force. 10 2. Any public utility company, corporation or person and the officers, 11 agents and employees thereof that knowingly fails or neglects to obey or 12 comply with a provision of this chapter or a regulation or [an] order 13 adopted under authority of this chapter so long as the same shall be in 14 force, shall forfeit to the people of the state of New York a sum [not15exceeding one hundred thousand dollars constituting a civil penalty for16each and every offense and, in the case of a continuing violation, each17day shall be deemed a separate and distinct offense] that shall be set 18 by the public service commission after considering the following: 19 (a) the scope of damages caused by the violation to individuals, 20 businesses and the state; 21 (b) each individual act or omission which led to the violation; 22 (c) whether the violation was knowing or willful; 23 (d) whether the violation was recurring, or had been the subject of a 24 previous finding by the commission; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02683-07-1S. 4960 2 1 (e) whether the violation was of a provision of this chapter, or a 2 regulation or order adopted under the authority of this chapter, 3 adopted specifically for the protection of human safety, including but 4 not limited to the commission's code of gas safety regulations, and 5 whether the violation caused or constituted a contributing factor in 6 bringing about a death or personal injury, as determined by the commis- 7 sion; 8 (f) whether the violation was of a provision of this chapter, or a 9 regulation or order adopted under the authority of this chapter, 10 specifically designed to protect the overall reliability and continuity 11 of service, the duration of any such violation, whether such violation 12 affected the reliability or continuity of service, the duration of any 13 such effect on the reliability or continuity of service, and whether any 14 effect on the reliability or continuity of service was recurring; 15 (g) the economic losses of ratepayers, in the form of increased 16 service rates or otherwise, associated with damage to or weakening of 17 infrastructure in connection with the event out of which the violation 18 arose, including but not limited to investments and costs associated 19 with repairing, improving, or replacing such infrastructure; 20 (h) whether the violation was caused in whole or in part due to the 21 systematic failure of the entity to maintain or replace obsolete or 22 deteriorated materials or equipment; 23 (i) the degree of preparation, including but not limited to the utili- 24 zation of mutual aid or other contingent resources, for a storm event or 25 other event out of which the violation arose for which there was advance 26 warning or notice; 27 (j) with respect to telephone corporations, cable television companies 28 and the officers, agents and employees thereof, whether a loss of 29 commercial electricity caused the violation; and 30 (k) mitigating factors relevant to the seriousness of the violation, 31 as determined by the commission. 32 3. [Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision two of this section,33any such public utility company, corporation or person and the officers,34agents and employees thereof that knowingly fails or neglects to obey or35comply with a provision of this chapter, or an order or regulation36adopted under the authority of this chapter, adopted specifically for37the protection of human safety, including but not limited to the commis-38sion's code of gas safety regulations shall, if it is determined by the39commission that such safety violation caused or constituted a contribut-40ing factor in bringing about a death or personal injury, forfeit to the41state of New York a sum not to exceed the greater of:42(a) two hundred and fifty thousand dollars constituting a civil penal-43ty for each separate and distinct offense; provided, however, that for44purposes of this paragraph each day of a continuing violation shall not45be deemed a separate and distinct offense. The total period of a contin-46uing violation, as well as every distinct violation, shall be similarly47treated as a separate and distinct offense for purposes of this para-48graph; or49(b) the maximum forfeiture determined in accordance with subdivision50two of this section.514. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one or two of this52section, a public utility company, corporation or person and the offi-53cers, agents and employees thereof that knowingly fails or neglects to54obey or comply with a provision of this chapter, or an order or regu-55lation adopted under authority of this chapter, designed to protect theS. 4960 3 1overall reliability and continuity of electric service, shall forfeit to2the state of New York a sum not to exceed the greater of:3(a) five hundred thousand dollars constituting a civil penalty for4each separate and distinct offense; provided, however, that for purposes5of this paragraph each day of a continuing violation shall not be deemed6a separate and distinct offense. The total period of a continuing7violation, as well as every distinct violation, shall be similarly8treated as a separate and distinct offense for purposes of this para-9graph; or10(b) the maximum forfeiture determined in accordance with subdivision11two of this section.125.] Penalties provided for pursuant to this section shall be recovered 13 in an action as provided in section twenty-four of this article. 14 [6] 4. Any payment made by a public utility company, corporation or 15 person and the officers, agents and employees thereof as a result of an 16 action as provided in section twenty-four of this article and the cost 17 of litigation and investigation related to any such action shall not be 18 included by the commission in revenue requirements used to establish 19 rates and charges. 20 [7] 5. In construing and enforcing the provisions of this chapter 21 relating to forfeitures and penalties, the act of any director, officer, 22 agent or employee of a public utility company, corporation or person 23 acting within the scope of his or her official duties or employment 24 shall be deemed to be the act of such public utility company, corpo- 25 ration or person. 26 § 2. Section 25-a of the public service law, as added by section 2 of 27 part X of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows: 28 § 25-a. Combination gas and electric corporations; administrative 29 sanctions; recovery of penalties. Notwithstanding sections twenty-four 30 and twenty-five of this article: 1. Every combination gas and electric 31 corporation and the officers thereof shall adhere to every provision of 32 this chapter and every order or regulation adopted under authority of 33 this chapter so long as the same shall be in force. 34 2. (a) The commission shall have the authority to assess a civil 35 penalty in an amount as set forth in this section and against a combina- 36 tion gas and electric corporation and the officers thereof subject to 37 the jurisdiction, supervision, or regulation pursuant to this chapter 38 [in an amount as set forth in this section. In determining the amount of39any penalty to be assessed pursuant to this section, the commission40shall consider: (i) the seriousness of the violation for which a penalty41is sought; (ii) the nature and extent of any previous violations for42which penalties have been assessed against the corporation or officer;43(iii) whether there was knowledge of the violation; (iv) the gross44revenues and financial status of the corporation; and (v) such other45factors as the commission may deem appropriate and relevant]. 46 The remedies provided by this subdivision are in addition to any other 47 remedies provided in law. 48 (b) Whenever the commission has reason to believe that a combination 49 gas and electric corporation or such officers thereof should be subject 50 to imposition of a civil penalty as set forth in this subdivision, it 51 shall notify such corporation or officer. Such notice shall include, 52 but shall not be limited to: (i) the date and a brief description of the 53 facts and nature of each act or failure to act for which such penalty is 54 proposed; (ii) a list of each statute, regulation or order that the 55 commission alleges has been violated; [and] (iii) the amount of each 56 penalty that the commission proposes to [assess and the holding ofS. 4960 4 1evidentiary hearings, as provided in this chapter] be assessed; and (iv) 2 any proposed actions that the commission deems necessary to address such 3 alleged violation or violations. The commission is authorized to under- 4 take any additional administrative or investigatory actions related 5 to such violation or violations, including but not limited to, service 6 of an administrative complaint, implementation of discovery, interviews, 7 depositions, entering into a settlement agreement or other stipulation, 8 and the holding of evidentiary hearings, as provided in this chapter. 9 (c) Whenever the commission has reason to believe that a combination 10 gas and electric corporation or such officers thereof should be subject 11 to imposition of a civil penalty or penalties as set forth in this 12 subdivision, the commission shall hold a hearing to demonstrate why the 13 proposed penalty or penalties should be assessed against such combina- 14 tion gas and electric corporation or such officers. 15 3. Any combination gas and electric corporation or such officers ther- 16 eof determined by the commission to have failed to [reasonably] comply 17 as shown by a preponderance of the evidence, at an evidentiary hearing, 18 with a provision of this chapter, regulation or an order adopted under 19 authority of this chapter so long as the same shall be in force shall 20 forfeit a sum [not exceeding the greater of one hundred thousand dollars21or two one-hundredths of one percent of the annual intrastate gross22operating revenue of the corporation, not including taxes paid to and23revenues collected on behalf of government entities, constituting a24civil penalty for each and every offense and, in the case of a continu-25ing violation, each day shall be deemed a separate and distinct offense] 26 that shall be set by the public service commission, after considering 27 the following: 28 (a) the scope of damages caused by the violation to individuals, busi- 29 nesses and the state; 30 (b) each individual act or omission which led to the violation; 31 (c) whether the violation was knowing or willful; 32 (d) whether the violation was recurring, or had been the subject of a 33 previous finding by the commission; 34 (e) whether the violation was of a provision of this chapter, or a 35 regulation or order adopted under the authority of this chapter, 36 adopted specifically for the protection of human safety, including but 37 not limited to the commission's code of gas safety regulations, and 38 whether the violation caused or constituted a contributing factor in 39 bringing about a death or personal injury, as determined by the commis- 40 sion; 41 (f) whether the violation was of a provision of this chapter, or a 42 regulation or order adopted under the authority of this chapter, 43 specifically designed to protect the overall reliability and continuity 44 of service, the duration of any such violation, whether such violation 45 affected the reliability or continuity of service, the duration of any 46 such effect on the reliability or continuity of service, and whether any 47 effect on the reliability or continuity of service was recurring; 48 (g) the economic losses of ratepayers, in the form of increased 49 service rates or otherwise, associated with damage to or weakening of 50 infrastructure in connection with the event out of which the violation 51 arose, including but not limited to investments and costs associated 52 with repairing, improving, or replacing such infrastructure; 53 (h) whether the violation was caused in whole or in part due to the 54 systematic failure of the entity to maintain or replace obsolete or 55 deteriorated materials or equipment;S. 4960 5 1 (i) the degree of preparation, including but not limited to the utili- 2 zation of mutual aid or other contingent resources, for a storm event or 3 other event out of which the violation arose for which there was advance 4 warning or notice; 5 (j) with respect to any telephone corporation or cable television 6 company to which this section applies by reason of the application of 7 section twenty-five-b of this article, and with respect to any officer 8 of any such telephone corporation or cable television company, whether a 9 loss of commercial electricity caused the violation; and 10 (k) mitigating factors relevant to the seriousness of the violation, 11 as determined by the commission. 12 4. [Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision three of this13section, any such combination gas and electric corporation determined by14the commission to have failed to reasonably comply with a provision of15this chapter, or an order or regulation adopted under the authority of16this chapter specifically for the protection of human safety or17prevention of significant damage to real property, including, but not18limited to, the commission's code of gas safety regulations shall, if it19is determined by the commission by a preponderance of the evidence that20such safety violation caused or constituted a contributing factor in21bringing about: (a) a death or personal injury; or (b) damage to real22property in excess of fifty thousand dollars, forfeit a sum not to23exceed the greater of:24(i) two hundred fifty thousand dollars or three one-hundredths of one25percent of the annual intrastate gross operating revenue of the corpo-26ration, not including taxes paid to and revenues collected on behalf of27government entities, whichever is greater, constituting a civil penalty28for each separate and distinct offense; provided, however, that for29purposes of this paragraph, each day of a continuing violation shall not30be deemed a separate and distinct offense. The total period of a contin-31uing violation, as well as every distinct violation, shall be similarly32treated as a separate and distinct offense for purposes of this para-33graph; or34(ii) the maximum forfeiture determined in accordance with subdivision35three of this section.365. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision three or four of this37section, a combination gas and electric corporation determined by the38commission to have failed to reasonably comply by a preponderance of the39evidence with a provision of this chapter, or an order or regulation40adopted under authority of this chapter, designed to protect the overall41reliability and continuity of electric service, including but not limit-42ed to the restoration of electric service following a major outage event43or emergency, shall forfeit a sum not to exceed the greater of:44(a) five hundred thousand dollars or four one-hundredths of one45percent of the annual intrastate gross operating revenue of the corpo-46ration, not including taxes paid to and revenues collected on behalf of47government entities, whichever is greater, constituting a civil penalty48for each separate and distinct offense; provided, however, that for49purposes of this paragraph each day of a continuing violation shall not50be deemed a separate and distinct offense. The total period of a contin-51uing violation, as well as every distinct violation shall be similarly52treated as a separate and distinct offense for purposes of this para-53graph; or54(b) the maximum forfeiture determined in accordance with subdivision55three of this section.S. 4960 6 16. Any officer of any combination gas and electric corporation deter-2mined by the commission to have violated the provisions of subdivision3three, four, or five of this section, and who knowingly violates a4provision of this chapter, regulation or an order adopted under authori-5ty of this chapter so long as the same shall be in force shall forfeit a6sum not to exceed one hundred thousand dollars constituting a civil7penalty for each and every offense and, in the case of a continuing8violation, each day shall be deemed a separate and distinct offense.97. Any such assessment may be compromised or discontinued by the10commission.] All moneys recovered pursuant to this section, together 11 with the costs thereof, shall be remitted to, or for the benefit of, the 12 ratepayers in a manner to be determined by the commission. 13 [8.] 5. Upon a failure by a combination gas and electric corporation 14 or officer to remit any penalty assessed by the commission pursuant to 15 this section, the commission, through its counsel, may institute an 16 action or special proceeding to collect the penalty in a court of compe- 17 tent jurisdiction. 18 [9.] 6. Any payment made by a combination gas and electric corporation 19 or the officers thereof as a result of an assessment or penalty as 20 provided in this section, and the cost of litigation and investigation 21 related to any such assessment, shall not be recoverable from ratepay- 22 ers. 23 [10.] 7. In construing and enforcing the provisions of this chapter 24 relating to penalties, the act of any director, officer, agent or 25 employee of a combined gas and electric corporation acting within the 26 scope of his or her official duties or employment shall be deemed to be 27 the act of such corporation. 28 [11.] 8. It shall be a violation of this chapter should a director, 29 officer or employee of a public utility company, corporation, person 30 acting in his or her official duties or employment, or an agent acting 31 on behalf of an employer take retaliatory personnel action such as 32 discharge, suspension, demotion, penalization or discrimination against 33 an employee for reporting a violation of a provision of this chapter 34 [of] or an order or regulation adopted under the authority of this chap- 35 ter, including, but not limited to, those governing safe and adequate 36 service, protection of human safety or prevention of significant damage 37 to real property, including, but not limited to, the commission's code 38 of gas safety. Nothing in this subdivision shall be deemed to diminish 39 the rights, privileges or remedies of any employee under any other law 40 or regulation, including but not limited to article twenty-C of the 41 labor law and section seventy-five-b of the civil service law, or under 42 any collective bargaining agreement or employment contract. 43 § 3. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 25-b to 44 read as follows: 45 § 25-b. Administrative actions against other regulated entities. 46 Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, section twenty- 47 five-a of this article shall apply in equal force to: 1. an electric 48 corporation as defined in subdivision thirteen of section two of this 49 article; 2. a gas corporation as defined in subdivision eleven of 50 section two of this article; 3. a cable television company or cable 51 television system as defined in subdivisions one and two of section two 52 hundred twelve of this article; 4. a telephone corporation as defined in 53 subdivision seventeen of section two of this article; 5. a steam corpo- 54 ration as defined in subdivision twenty-two of section two of this arti- 55 cle; and 6. a water-works corporation as defined in subdivision twenty-S. 4960 7 1 seven of section two of this article; as well as the officers or 2 employees of any such corporate entities described above. 3 § 4. Subdivision 21 of section 66 of the public service law, as 4 amended by section 4 of part X of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, is 5 amended to read as follows: 6 21. (a) Each electric corporation subject to section twenty-five-a of 7 this chapter shall annually, on or before December fifteenth, submit to 8 the commission an emergency response plan for review and approval. The 9 emergency response plan shall be designed for the reasonably prompt 10 restoration of service in the case of an emergency event, defined for 11 purposes of this subdivision as an event where widespread outages have 12 occurred in the service territory of the company due to storms or other 13 causes beyond the control of the company. The emergency response plan 14 shall include, but need not be limited to, the following: (i) the iden- 15 tification of management staff responsible for company operations during 16 an emergency; (ii) a communications plan that includes: (A) a system 17 [with] that communicates service information to customers during an 18 emergency that extends beyond normal business hours and business condi- 19 tions; [(iii)] (B) identification of and outreach plans to customers who 20 had documented their need for essential electricity for medical needs; 21 [(iv)] (C) identification of and outreach plans to customers who had 22 documented their need for essential electricity to provide critical 23 telecommunications, critical transportation, critical fuel distribution 24 services or other large-load customers identified by the commission; 25 [(v)] (D) designation of company staff to communicate with local offi- 26 cials and appropriate regulatory agencies; [(vi)] and (E) identifies, 27 tests and verifies redundancies in communications systems; (iii) 28 provisions regarding how the company will assure the safety of its 29 employees and contractors; [(vii)] (iv) procedures for deploying company 30 and mutual aid crews to work assignment areas; [(viii)] (v) identifica- 31 tion of additional supplies and equipment needed during an emergency; 32 [(ix)] (vi) the means of obtaining additional supplies and equipment; 33 [(x)] (vii) procedures to practice the emergency response plan; [(xi)] 34 (viii) appropriate safety precautions regarding electrical hazards, 35 including plans to promptly secure downed wires within thirty-six hours 36 of notification of the location of such downed wires from a municipal 37 emergency official; and [(xii)] (ix) such other additional information 38 as the commission may require. Each such corporation shall, on an annual 39 basis, undertake drills implementing procedures to practice its emergen- 40 cy management plan. The commission may adopt additional requirements 41 consistent with ensuring the reasonably prompt restoration of service in 42 the case of an emergency event. 43 (b) After review of a corporation's emergency response plan, the 44 commission may require such corporation to amend the plan. The commis- 45 sion may also open an investigation of the corporation's plan to deter- 46 mine its sufficiency to respond adequately to an emergency event. If, 47 after hearings, the commission finds a material deficiency in the plan, 48 it may order the company to make such modifications that it deems 49 reasonably necessary to remedy the deficiency. 50 (c) The commission is authorized to open an investigation to review 51 the performance of any corporation in restoring service, implementing 52 communications plans or otherwise meeting the requirements of the emer- 53 gency response plan during an emergency event. If, after evidentiary 54 hearings or other investigatory proceedings, the commission finds that 55 the corporation failed to [reasonably] implement its emergency response 56 plan or the length of such corporation's outages were materially longerS. 4960 8 1 than they would have been, because of such corporation's failure to 2 [reasonably] implement its emergency response plan, the commission may 3 deny the recovery of any part of the service restoration costs caused by 4 such failure, commensurate with the degree and impact of the service 5 outage; provided, however, that nothing herein limits the commission's 6 authority to otherwise commence a proceeding pursuant to sections twen- 7 ty-four, twenty-five and twenty-five-a of this chapter. 8 (d) The commission shall certify to the department of homeland securi- 9 ty and emergency services that each such corporation's emergency 10 response plan is sufficient to ensure to the greatest extent feasible 11 the timely and safe restoration of energy services after an emergency in 12 compliance with the requirements of this chapter. 13 (e) The filing of each emergency response plan required under para- 14 graph (a) of this subdivision shall also include a copy of all written 15 mutual assistance agreements among utilities. 16 (f) Each electric corporation shall file with the county executive or 17 the chief elected official of a county for each county within its 18 service territory the most recent approved copy of the emergency 19 response plan required pursuant to this section. For the purposes of an 20 electric corporation operating within the city of New York, such corpo- 21 ration shall file the most recent approved emergency response plan with 22 the emergency management office of the city of New York. 23 (g) The commission shall provide access to such emergency response 24 plan pursuant to article six of the public officers law. 25 § 5. Section 94 of the public service law is amended by adding a new 26 subdivision 5 to read as follows: 27 5. (a) Each corporation subject to this article shall annually, on or 28 before December fifteenth, submit to the commission an emergency 29 response plan for review and approval. The emergency response plan shall 30 be designed for the reasonably prompt restoration of service in the case 31 of an emergency event, defined for purposes of this subdivision as an 32 event where widespread outages have occurred in the service territory of 33 the company due to storms or other causes beyond the control of the 34 company. The emergency response plan shall include, but need not be 35 limited to, the following: (i) the identification of management staff 36 responsible for company operations during an emergency; (ii) a communi- 37 cations plan that includes (A) a system that communicates service infor- 38 mation to customers during an emergency that extends beyond normal busi- 39 ness hours and business conditions; (B) designation of company staff to 40 communicate with local officials and appropriate regulatory agencies; 41 and (C) identifies, tests and verifies redundancies in communications 42 systems; (iii) provisions regarding how the company will ensure the 43 safety of its employees and contractors; (iv) procedures for deploying 44 personnel crews to work assignment areas; (v) identification of addi- 45 tional supplies and equipment needed during an emergency; (vi) the means 46 of obtaining additional supplies and equipment; (vii) procedures to 47 practice the emergency response plan; and (viii) such other additional 48 information as the commission may require. Each such corporation shall, 49 on an annual basis, undertake drills implementing procedures to practice 50 its emergency management plan. The commission may adopt additional 51 requirements consistent with ensuring the reasonably prompt restoration 52 of service in the case of an emergency event. 53 (b) After review of a corporation's emergency response plan, the 54 commission may require such corporation to amend the plan. The commis- 55 sion may also open an investigation of the corporation's plan to deter- 56 mine its sufficiency to respond adequately to an emergency event. If,S. 4960 9 1 after hearings, the commission finds a material deficiency in the plan, 2 it may order the company to make such modifications that it deems 3 reasonably necessary to remedy the deficiency. 4 (c) The commission is authorized to open an investigation to review 5 the performance of any corporation in restoring service, implementing 6 communications plans or otherwise meeting the requirements of the emer- 7 gency response plan during an emergency event. 8 (d) Each corporation subject to this article shall file with the coun- 9 ty executive or the chief elected official of a county for each county 10 within its service territory the most recent approved copy of the emer- 11 gency response plan required pursuant to this section. For the purposes 12 of a corporation operating within the city of New York, such corporation 13 shall file the most recent approved emergency response plan with the 14 emergency management office of the city of New York. 15 (e) The commission shall provide access to such emergency response 16 plan pursuant to article six of the public officers law. 17 § 6. Section 216 of the public service law is amended by adding a new 18 subdivision 4-a to read as follows: 19 4-a. (a) Each corporation subject to this article shall annually, on 20 or before December fifteenth, submit to the commission an emergency 21 response plan for review and approval. The emergency response plan shall 22 be designed for the reasonably prompt restoration of service in the case 23 of an emergency event, defined for purposes of this subdivision as an 24 event where widespread outages have occurred in the service territory of 25 the company due to storms or other causes beyond the control of the 26 company. The emergency response plan shall include, but need not be 27 limited to, the following: (i) the identification of management staff 28 responsible for company operations during an emergency; (ii) a communi- 29 cations plan which includes: (A) a system that communicates service 30 information to customers during an emergency that extends beyond normal 31 business hours and business conditions; (B) designation of company staff 32 to communicate with local officials and appropriate regulatory agencies; 33 and (C) identifies, tests and verifies redundancies in communications 34 systems; (iii) provisions regarding how the company will ensure the 35 safety of its employees and contractors; (iv) procedures for deploying 36 personnel crews to work assignment areas; (v) identification of addi- 37 tional supplies and equipment needed during an emergency; (vi) the means 38 of obtaining additional supplies and equipment; (vii) procedures to 39 practice the emergency response plan; and (viii) such other additional 40 information as the commission may require. Each such corporation shall, 41 on an annual basis, undertake drills implementing procedures to practice 42 its emergency management plan. The commission may adopt additional 43 requirements consistent with ensuring the reasonably prompt restoration 44 of service in the case of an emergency event. 45 (b) After review of a corporation's emergency response plan, the 46 commission may require such corporation to amend the plan. The commis- 47 sion may also open an investigation of the corporation's plan to deter- 48 mine its sufficiency to respond adequately to an emergency event. If, 49 after hearings, the commission finds a material deficiency in the plan, 50 it may order the company to make such modifications that it deems 51 reasonably necessary to remedy the deficiency. 52 (c) The commission is authorized to open an investigation to review 53 the performance of any corporation in restoring service, implementing 54 communications plans or otherwise meeting the requirements of the emer- 55 gency response plan during an emergency event.S. 4960 10 1 (d) Each corporation subject to this article shall file with the coun- 2 ty executive or the chief elected official of a county for each county 3 within its service territory the most recent approved copy of the emer- 4 gency response plan required pursuant to this section. For the purposes 5 of a corporation operating within the city of New York, such corporation 6 shall file the most recent approved emergency response plan with the 7 emergency management office of the city of New York. 8 (e) The commission shall provide access to such emergency response 9 plan pursuant to article six of the public officers law. 10 § 7. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part 11 of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to 12 be invalid and after exhaustion of all further judicial review, the 13 judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, 14 but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, para- 15 graph, section or part of this act directly involved in the controversy 16 in which the judgment shall have been rendered. 17 § 8. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 18 have become a law. Effective immediately, the department of public 19 service or the public service commission is authorized to promulgate any 20 regulations or orders necessary to implement this act.
