Bill Text: NY A07166 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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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) 2024-03-27 - REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS [A07166 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A07166-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7166

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      May 11, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. OTIS, BURDICK, PAULIN, ROZIC, SAYEGH, SEAWRIGHT,
          SIMON, THIELE, ZEBROWSKI -- read once and referred to the Committee on
          Energy

        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 separately amended by chapters 395 and 743 of the laws
     3  of 2022, subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) as  separately  amended  by
     4  chapter 727 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
     5    (a) Each electric corporation subject to section twenty-five-a of this
     6  chapter  shall  annually, on or before December fifteenth, submit to the
     7  commission an emergency response plan for review and approval. The emer-
     8  gency response plan shall be designed for the reasonably prompt restora-
     9  tion of service in the case of an emergency event, defined for  purposes
    10  of  this  subdivision as an event where widespread outages have occurred
    11  in the service territory of the company due to storms, cyber attack,  or
    12  other  causes  beyond the control of the company.  To support reasonably
    13  prompt restoration of service in the case of an emergency  event,  emer-
    14  gency response plans should include details of staffing, equipment and a
    15  performance  schedule  with the goal of achieving restoration of service
    16  based upon a time-based restoration schedule established by the  commis-
    17  sion. In establishing such time-based restoration schedules, the commis-
    18  sion  should  utilize  benchmarks  for  the restoration of service which
    19  include, but are not limited to, the percentage  of  customers  restored
    20  within  each twenty-four-hour interval following the storm and consider-
    21  ation of different kinds of storm events. The  emergency  response  plan
    22  shall include, but need not be limited to, the following:  (i) the iden-
    23  tification of management staff responsible for company operations during

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03764-01-3
        A. 7166                             2

     1  an  emergency;  (ii)  a  communications  system with customers during an
     2  emergency that extends beyond normal business hours and business  condi-
     3  tions;  (iii)  identification of and outreach plans to customers who had
     4  documented their need for essential electricity for medical needs, which
     5  shall include but not be limited to, apnea monitors for infants, cuirass
     6  respirators,  hemodialysis  machines,  IV  feeding  machines, IV medical
     7  infusion machines, oxygen concentrators, positive pressure  respirators,
     8  respirator/ventilators,  rocking bed respirators, suction machines, tank
     9  type respirators, as well as any medical equipment or  equipment  neces-
    10  sary  for  an  individual  whose diagnosis is likely to be significantly
    11  triggered or significantly exacerbated by a continued loss of power that
    12  will adversely impact that individual's health; (iv)  identification  of
    13  and outreach plans to customers who had documented their need for essen-
    14  tial electricity to provide critical telecommunications, critical trans-
    15  portation,  critical  fuel  distribution  services  or  other large-load
    16  customers identified by the commission; (v) designation of company staff
    17  to communicate with local officials and appropriate regulatory agencies;
    18  (vi) provisions regarding how the company will assure the safety of  its
    19  employees  and  contractors;  (vii) procedures for deploying company and
    20  mutual aid crews to work  assignment  areas;  (viii)  identification  of
    21  additional  supplies  and equipment needed during an emergency; (ix) the
    22  means of obtaining additional supplies and equipment; (x) procedures  to
    23  practice  the  emergency  response plan; (xi) appropriate safety precau-
    24  tions regarding electrical hazards, including plans to  promptly  secure
    25  downed  wires within thirty-six hours of notification of the location of
    26  such downed wires from  a  municipal  emergency  official;  (xii)  plans
    27  setting  forth how the communication and coordination of efforts between
    28  the  electric  corporation,  electric  corporation  employees,  electric
    29  corporation  company  crews,  mutual  aid  crews, other utilities, local
    30  governments and any other entity  performing  services  to  assist  such
    31  electric  corporation  shall  occur;  and  (xiii)  such other additional
    32  information as the commission may require.  Each such corporation shall,
    33  on an annual basis, undertake drills implementing procedures to practice
    34  its emergency management  plan.  The  commission  may  adopt  additional
    35  requirements  consistent with ensuring the reasonably prompt restoration
    36  of service in the case of an emergency event.
    37    § 2. This act shall take effect on the  same  date  and  in  the  same
    38  manner as chapter 743 of the laws of 2022, takes effect.