Bill Text: TX SB1003 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to promoting the resilience of the electric grid and certain municipalities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-01 - Referred to Natural Resources & Economic Development [SB1003 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-SB1003-Introduced.html
By: Hall | S.B. No. 1003 | |
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relating to promoting the resilience of the electric grid and | ||
certain municipalities. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that: | ||
(1) A resilient Texas electric grid that offers | ||
businesses continuity of operations in the event of a natural or | ||
man-made disaster, including hurricanes, flooding, terrorist | ||
attacks, cybersecurity threats, electromagnetic pulse threats, and | ||
geomagnetic disturbance threats, will be an unrivaled attraction | ||
for businesses to expand or move their operations to this state and | ||
for protecting military installations; | ||
(2) this state's food and water supplies, fuel supply, | ||
communications systems, banking, hospitals and health care | ||
facilities, law enforcement, and countless critical functions | ||
depend on the electric grid, making the grid's protection vital to | ||
our economy and homeland security; | ||
(3) the United States Department of Homeland Security | ||
has recommended protection against these threats and has published | ||
Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Protection and Resilience Guidelines | ||
for Critical Infrastructure and Equipment, which can be used to | ||
mitigate the effects of such a disaster; | ||
(4) Texas Governor Greg Abbott has outlined in his | ||
most recent state-wide address that he is giving the legislature | ||
time during this legislative session "to make Texas more resilient | ||
to future disasters" by "making disaster response an emergency | ||
item;" | ||
(5) public confidence in the resilience of the Texas | ||
electric grid is essential to ensuring economic prosperity, | ||
domestic tranquility, continuity of government, and | ||
life-sustaining systems; | ||
(6) protection of the electric grid would assure these | ||
businesses and the citizens of this state that the "lights will be | ||
back on first in Texas" in the event of a catastrophic failure of | ||
the grid; | ||
(7) the federal government has failed to protect the | ||
citizens of this state by addressing the vulnerability of the | ||
electric grid; | ||
(8) Texas is uniquely positioned to be the first state | ||
to take action to protect its electric grid, because it is the only | ||
state with a grid exclusively within its boundaries; and | ||
(9) when this state begins implementation of the | ||
electric grid resilience plan, short- and long-term economic | ||
benefit will far exceed, even the most optimistic estimates of, the | ||
conventional economic incentives provided by tax abatements to | ||
attract businesses to this state. | ||
SECTION 2. Subtitle B, Title 2, Utilities Code, is amended | ||
by adding Chapter 44 to read as follows: | ||
CHAPTER 44. GRID RESILIENCE | ||
Sec. 44.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: | ||
(1) "EMP Commission reports" means the July 2017 | ||
report released by the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United | ||
States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack titled "Recommended | ||
E3 HEMP Heave Electric Field Waveform for the Critical | ||
Infrastructures" and all other reports by the EMP Commission. | ||
(2) "Micro-grid" means a group of interconnected loads | ||
and distributed energy resources inside clearly defined electrical | ||
boundaries that act as a single controllable entity with respect to | ||
the grid. | ||
(3) "Security commission" means the Texas Grid | ||
Security Commission. | ||
Sec. 44.002. TEXAS GRID SECURITY COMMISSION. (a) The | ||
security commission is composed of the following members: | ||
(1) a representative of the Texas Division of | ||
Emergency Management appointed by the chief of the division; | ||
(2) a representative of the State Office of Risk | ||
Management appointed by the risk management board; | ||
(3) a representative of the independent organization | ||
certified under Section 39.151 for the ERCOT region appointed by | ||
the chief executive officer of the organization; | ||
(4) a representative of the Texas Military Department | ||
appointed by the adjutant general of the department; | ||
(5) a representative of the Texas Military | ||
Preparedness Commission appointed by the military preparedness | ||
commission; | ||
(6) a representative of the Office of State-Federal | ||
Relations appointed by the director of the office; | ||
(7) a representative of the Department of Information | ||
Resources appointed by the director of the department. | ||
(8) a representative of power generation companies | ||
appointed by the chief of the Texas Division of Emergency | ||
Management; | ||
(9) two representatives of transmission and | ||
distribution utilities appointed by the chief of the Texas Division | ||
of Emergency Management; | ||
(10) one representative appointed by the chief of the | ||
Texas Division of Emergency Management from each of the following | ||
essential services sectors: | ||
(A) law enforcement; | ||
(B) emergency services; | ||
(C) communications; | ||
(D) water and sewer services; | ||
(E) health care; | ||
(F) financial services; and | ||
(G) food and agriculture; | ||
(11) an expert in the field of higher education | ||
appointed by the chief of the Texas Division of Emergency | ||
Management. | ||
(b) The chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management | ||
may appoint a member of the United States Air Force's | ||
Electromagnetic Defense Task Force to the security commission. | ||
(c) The Texas Division of Emergency Management shall | ||
designate a member of the security commission to serve as presiding | ||
officer. | ||
(d) The security commission shall convene at the call of the | ||
presiding officer. | ||
(e) A vacancy on the security commission is filled by | ||
appointment for the unexpired term in the same manner as the | ||
original appointment. | ||
Sec. 44.003. GRID RESILIENCE INFORMATION. (a) Information | ||
used in determining the vulnerabilities of the electric grid or | ||
that is related to measures to be taken to protect the grid is | ||
confidential and not subject to Chapter 552, Government Code. | ||
(b) Information described by Subsection (a) shall be stored | ||
and maintained by the independent organization certified under | ||
Section 39.151 for the ERCOT region. | ||
(c) A member of the security commission may not access | ||
confidential information described by Subsection (a) unless the | ||
member has a secret security clearance granted by the federal | ||
government. | ||
(d) The following members of the security commission may | ||
apply for a secret security clearance or an interim secret security | ||
clearance to be granted by the federal government: | ||
(1) the representative of the independent | ||
organization certified under Section 39.151 for the ERCOT region; | ||
(2) the representative of the Texas Division of | ||
Emergency Management; and | ||
(3) the representative of the State Office of Risk | ||
Management. | ||
Sec. 44.004. CRITICAL COMPONENT RESILIENCE. (a) The State | ||
Office of Risk Management shall select a contractor to identify | ||
critical components of the ERCOT electric grid vulnerable to EMP, | ||
GMD, cyber, or physical attack. The contractor must identify the | ||
critical components before the expiration of six months after the | ||
date the contractor is engaged. | ||
(b) Not later than January 1, 2021, an entity that owns or | ||
operates a component identified by the contractor under Subsection | ||
(a) as critical shall upgrade the component as necessary for the | ||
component to meet the applicable standard proposed in the EMP | ||
Commission reports. | ||
(c) The State Office of Risk Management shall select a | ||
contractor to verify whether affected entities have upgraded | ||
components as required by Subsection (b). | ||
(d) Each contractor selected by the State Office of Risk | ||
Management under this section must have experience hardening | ||
electrical systems to meet military standards at the federal level. | ||
Sec. 44.005. PLAN FOR CONTINUITY OF SERVICES. (a) Not | ||
later than January 1, 2020, the security commission shall prepare | ||
and deliver to the legislature a plan for continuity of services in | ||
the event of a catastrophic loss of power in the state. | ||
(b) The plan must include: | ||
(1) provisions for installing, replacing, or | ||
upgrading extra high-voltage power transformers and supervisory | ||
control and data acquisition systems to withstand 100 | ||
kilovolts/meter E1 electromagnetic pulses and 85 volts/kilometer | ||
E3 electromagnetic pulses not later than January 1, 2024; | ||
(2) a timeline for upgrading remaining infrastructure | ||
to meet recommendations of the EMP Commission reports; and | ||
(3) long-term resilience provisions for supporting | ||
industries including: | ||
(A) nuclear reactors, materials, and waste | ||
(B) fuel supply; | ||
(C) health care; | ||
(D) communications; | ||
(E) water and sewer services; and | ||
(F) food supply; and | ||
(4) any additional provisions deemed necessary by the | ||
security commission. | ||
(c) The security commission may consult with the Private | ||
Sector Advisory Council in developing the plan. | ||
(d) The Texas Division of Emergency Management shall | ||
incorporate the plan into the state emergency management plan and | ||
update the plan as necessary to incorporate the progressive | ||
improvement of the system. | ||
Sec. 44.006. ALTERNATIVE TIMELINE OR STANDARD. A panel | ||
composed of members of the security commission who have obtained a | ||
secret security clearance granted by the federal government may | ||
approve a resilience standard or implementation timeline for an | ||
electric utility or other entity that differs from a resilience | ||
standard or implementation timeline adopted under Section 44.005. | ||
Sec. 44.007. RESILIENCE COST RECOVERY. A regulatory | ||
authority shall include in establishing the rates of an electric | ||
utility consideration of the costs incurred to install, replace, or | ||
upgrade facilities or equipment to meet a resilience standard | ||
established under this chapter. A regulatory authority shall | ||
presume that costs incurred to meet a resilience standard under | ||
this chapter are reasonable and necessary expenses. | ||
Sec. 44.008. MICRO-GRIDS. (a) The security commission | ||
shall establish resilience standards for micro-grids and certify a | ||
micro-grid that meets the standards. | ||
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a municipality or | ||
other political subdivision may not enact or enforce an ordinance | ||
or other measure that bans, limits, or otherwise regulates inside | ||
the boundaries or extraterritorial jurisdiction of the | ||
municipality or political subdivision a micro-grid that is | ||
certified by the security commission under this section. | ||
(c) The owner or operator of a micro-grid certified by the | ||
security commission is a power generation company and is required | ||
to register under Section 39.351(a). The owner or operator of the | ||
micro-grid is entitled to: | ||
(1) interconnect the micro-grid; | ||
(2) obtain transmission service for the micro-grid; | ||
and | ||
(3) use the micro-grid to sell electricity and | ||
ancillary services at wholesale in a manner consistent with the | ||
provisions of this title and commission rules applicable to a power | ||
generation company or an exempt wholesale generator. | ||
SECTION 3. Chapter 380, Local Government Code, is amended | ||
by adding Section 380.004 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 380.004. FIVE STAR GOLD RESILIENT COMMUNITIES. | ||
(a) An Energy Resilient Community is one where provisions | ||
have been made to ensure that energy, electric power, | ||
and fuel supplies are protected and available for | ||
recovery in the event of a catastrophic power outage. | ||
(b) The Texas Grid Security Commission shall establish | ||
resilience standards for municipalities in the following essential | ||
service areas: | ||
(1) emergency services; | ||
(2) communications systems; | ||
(3) clean water and sewer services; | ||
(4) health care systems; and | ||
(5) financial services. | ||
(c) On the application of a municipality for the | ||
designation, the Texas Grid Security Commission may designate a | ||
municipality that meets the resilience standards in the applicable | ||
service area as: | ||
(1) a Resilient Emergency Services Community; | ||
(2) a Resilient Communications Systems Community; | ||
(3) a Resilient Clean Water and Sewer Services | ||
Community; | ||
(4) a Resilient Health Care Systems Community; or | ||
(5) a Resilient Financial Services Community. | ||
(d) The Texas Grid Security Commission may designate a | ||
municipality that meets the resilience standards in all five | ||
service areas as a Five Star Gold Resilient Community. | ||
(d) A municipality may not use a resilient community | ||
designation in advertising, marketing, or economic development | ||
initiatives unless the Texas Grid Security Commission has awarded | ||
the municipality with the designation in the applicable service | ||
area or as a Five Star Gold Resilient Community. | ||
SECTION 4. Not later than January 1, 2021, the Texas Grid | ||
Security Commission shall prepare and deliver a report to the | ||
legislature on the progress of implementing resilience standards | ||
adopted under Sections 44.004 and 44.005, Utilities Code, as added | ||
by this Act. | ||
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
provided by Section 39, Article II, Texas Constitution. If this Act | ||
does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act | ||
takes effect September 1, 2019. |