Bill Text: TX HB143 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Enrolled

---

Bill Title: Relating to the authority of the Railroad Commission of Texas and the Public Utility Commission of Texas to address a failure by an operator to maintain an electrical power line serving a well site or certain surface facilities in accordance with the National Electrical Code.

Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2025-06-20 - Effective on 9/1/25 [HB143 Detail]

Download: Texas-2025-HB143-Enrolled.html

---

H.B. No. 143

AN ACT
relating to the authority of the Railroad Commission of Texas and
the Public Utility Commission of Texas to address a failure by an
operator to maintain an electrical power line serving a well site or
certain surface facilities in accordance with the National
Electrical Code.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 91.019, Natural Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 91.019. STANDARDS FOR CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION, AND
MAINTENANCE OF ELECTRICAL POWER LINES. (a) An operator shall
construct, operate, and maintain:
(1) an electrical power line serving a well site or
other surface facility employed in operations incident to oil and
gas development and production in accordance with the National
Electrical Code published by the National Fire Protection
Association and adopted by the Texas Commission of Licensing and
Regulation under Chapter 1305, Occupations Code; and
(2) electrical power line poles in a manner that
ensures the prevention and remediation of any readily observable
deficiencies, including damage, deterioration, leaning, or
cracking.
(b) If a landowner or lessee discovers a condition involving
an electrical power line, pole, or any other related electrical
equipment that does not meet the standards described by Subsection
(a), the landowner or lessee shall provide written notice of the
condition to the commission.
(c) If, during an inspection by the commission of a well
site or surface facility employed in operations incident to oil and
gas development and production or on the receipt of a written notice
submitted by a landowner or lessee, the commission discovers a
readily observable condition involving an electrical power line,
pole, or any other related electrical equipment that does not meet
the standards described by Subsection (a) and poses a risk of
causing a fire or injury to a person, the commission shall, not
later than three days after the discovery of the condition, notify
the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the operator. The
notification provided by the commission must include a description
of the condition and whether the well is abandoned.
(d) The commission shall notify the landowner of the
condition and inform the landowner of the actions the commission
and the Public Utility Commission of Texas will take or have taken
to resolve the condition not later than:
(1) the 10th day after the date the commission
discovers the condition; or
(2) the 30th day after the date the commission
discovers the condition, if the commission does not have the
landowner's contact information at the time of the discovery.
(e) Not later than the 10th day after the date on which the
commission discovers the condition, the commission and the Public
Utility Commission of Texas shall resolve the condition by:
(1) requesting that the state fire marshal or a local
government authority inspect the condition at the well site or
surface facility and requiring the operator to mitigate any
dangerous conditions identified by the state fire marshal or local
government authority;
(2) requesting that the electric cooperative,
electric utility, or municipally owned utility that provides
electric service to the well site or surface facility disconnect
electric service to the well site or surface facility at the common
coupling point at which the cooperative's or utility's equipment
meets customer-owned equipment; or
(3) taking any other action the commission and the
Public Utility Commission of Texas consider necessary and
appropriate to resolve the condition.
(f) If electric service was disconnected pursuant to a
request made under Subsection (e)(2), the electric cooperative,
electric utility, or municipally owned utility must restore
electric service to the well site or surface facility on receipt of
notice by the commission that the condition has been resolved.
(g) Members, employees, and agents of the commission may
enter public or private property only as necessary for purposes of
conducting an inspection under this section.
SECTION 2. Section 91.019, Natural Resources Code, as
amended by this Act, applies only to an inspection that occurs on or
after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 143 was passed by the House on April
2, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 132, Nays 15, 1 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 143 on May 28, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 124, Nays 12,
3 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 143 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 23, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor