Bill Text: NY S00136 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Relates to strengthening of utility storm response and compliance.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS [S00136 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S00136-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 136--B Cal. No. 245 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 6, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sens. MAYER, COMRIE, HARCKHAM, HINCHEY, HOYLMAN, SALAZAR -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommunications -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered to first and second report, ordered to a third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading 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: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02683-05-1S. 136--B 2 1 (a) the scope of damages caused by the violation to individuals, 2 businesses and the state; 3 (b) each individual act or omission which led to the violation; 4 (c) whether the violation was knowing or willful; 5 (d) whether the violation was recurring, or had been the subject of a 6 previous finding by the commission; 7 (e) whether the violation was of a provision of this chapter, or a 8 regulation or order adopted under the authority of this chapter, 9 adopted specifically for the protection of human safety, including but 10 not limited to the commission's code of gas safety regulations, and 11 whether the violation caused or constituted a contributing factor in 12 bringing about a death or personal injury, as determined by the commis- 13 sion; 14 (f) whether the violation was of a provision of this chapter, or a 15 regulation or order adopted under the authority of this chapter, 16 specifically designed to protect the overall reliability and continuity 17 of service, the duration of any such violation, whether such violation 18 affected the reliability or continuity of service, the duration of any 19 such effect on the reliability or continuity of service, and whether any 20 effect on the reliability or continuity of service was recurring; 21 (g) the economic losses of ratepayers, in the form of increased 22 service rates or otherwise, associated with damage to or weakening of 23 infrastructure in connection with the event out of which the violation 24 arose, including but not limited to investments and costs associated 25 with repairing, improving, or replacing such infrastructure; 26 (h) whether the violation was caused in whole or in part due to the 27 systematic failure of the entity to maintain or replace obsolete or 28 deteriorated materials or equipment; 29 (i) the degree of preparation, including but not limited to the utili- 30 zation of mutual aid or other contingent resources, for a storm event or 31 other event out of which the violation arose for which there was advance 32 warning or notice; and 33 (j) mitigating factors relevant to the seriousness of the violation, 34 as determined by the commission. 35 3. [Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision two of this section,36any such public utility company, corporation or person and the officers,37agents and employees thereof that knowingly fails or neglects to obey or38comply with a provision of this chapter, or an order or regulation39adopted under the authority of this chapter, adopted specifically for40the protection of human safety, including but not limited to the commis-41sion's code of gas safety regulations shall, if it is determined by the42commission that such safety violation caused or constituted a contribut-43ing factor in bringing about a death or personal injury, forfeit to the44state of New York a sum not to exceed the greater of:45(a) two hundred and fifty thousand dollars constituting a civil penal-46ty for each separate and distinct offense; provided, however, that for47purposes of this paragraph each day of a continuing violation shall not48be deemed a separate and distinct offense. The total period of a contin-49uing violation, as well as every distinct violation, shall be similarly50treated as a separate and distinct offense for purposes of this para-51graph; or52(b) the maximum forfeiture determined in accordance with subdivision53two of this section.544. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one or two of this55section, a public utility company, corporation or person and the offi-56cers, agents and employees thereof that knowingly fails or neglects toS. 136--B 3 1obey or comply with a provision of this chapter, or an order or regu-2lation adopted under authority of this chapter, designed to protect the3overall reliability and continuity of electric service, shall forfeit to4the state of New York a sum not to exceed the greater of:5(a) five hundred thousand dollars constituting a civil penalty for6each separate and distinct offense; provided, however, that for purposes7of this paragraph each day of a continuing violation shall not be deemed8a separate and distinct offense. The total period of a continuing9violation, as well as every distinct violation, shall be similarly10treated as a separate and distinct offense for purposes of this para-11graph; or12(b) the maximum forfeiture determined in accordance with subdivision13two of this section.145.] Penalties provided for pursuant to this section shall be recovered 15 in an action as provided in section twenty-four of this article. 16 [6] 4. Any payment made by a public utility company, corporation or 17 person and the officers, agents and employees thereof as a result of an 18 action as provided in section twenty-four of this article and the cost 19 of litigation and investigation related to any such action shall not be 20 included by the commission in revenue requirements used to establish 21 rates and charges. 22 [7] 5. In construing and enforcing the provisions of this chapter 23 relating to forfeitures and penalties, the act of any director, officer, 24 agent or employee of a public utility company, corporation or person 25 acting within the scope of his or her official duties or employment 26 shall be deemed to be the act of such public utility company, corpo- 27 ration or person. 28 § 2. Section 25-a of the public service law, as added by section 2 of 29 part X of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows: 30 § 25-a. Combination gas and electric corporations; administrative 31 sanctions; recovery of penalties. Notwithstanding sections twenty-four 32 and twenty-five of this article: 1. Every combination gas and electric 33 corporation and the officers thereof shall adhere to every provision of 34 this chapter and every order or regulation adopted under authority of 35 this chapter so long as the same shall be in force. 36 2. (a) The commission shall have the authority to assess a civil 37 penalty in an amount as set forth in this section and against a combina- 38 tion gas and electric corporation and the officers thereof subject to 39 the jurisdiction, supervision, or regulation pursuant to this chapter 40 [in an amount as set forth in this section. In determining the amount of41any penalty to be assessed pursuant to this section, the commission42shall consider: (i) the seriousness of the violation for which a penalty43is sought; (ii) the nature and extent of any previous violations for44which penalties have been assessed against the corporation or officer;45(iii) whether there was knowledge of the violation; (iv) the gross46revenues and financial status of the corporation; and (v) such other47factors as the commission may deem appropriate and relevant]. 48 The remedies provided by this subdivision are in addition to any other 49 remedies provided in law. 50 (b) Whenever the commission has reason to believe that a combination 51 gas and electric corporation or such officers thereof should be subject 52 to imposition of a civil penalty as set forth in this subdivision, it 53 shall notify such corporation or officer. Such notice shall include, 54 but shall not be limited to: (i) the date and a brief description of the 55 facts and nature of each act or failure to act for which such penalty is 56 proposed; (ii) a list of each statute, regulation or order that theS. 136--B 4 1 commission alleges has been violated; [and] (iii) the amount of each 2 penalty that the commission proposes to [assess and the holding of3evidentiary hearings, as provided in this chapter] be assessed; and (iv) 4 any proposed actions that the commission deems necessary to address such 5 alleged violation or violations. The commission is authorized to under- 6 take any additional administrative or investigatory actions related 7 to such violation or violations, including but not limited to, service 8 of an administrative complaint, implementation of discovery, interviews, 9 depositions, entering into a settlement agreement or other stipulation, 10 and the holding of evidentiary hearings, as provided in this chapter. 11 (c) Whenever the commission has reason to believe that a combination 12 gas and electric corporation or such officers thereof should be subject 13 to imposition of a civil penalty or penalties as set forth in this 14 subdivision, the commission shall hold a hearing to demonstrate why the 15 proposed penalty or penalties should be assessed against such combina- 16 tion gas and electric corporation or such officers. 17 3. Any combination gas and electric corporation or such officers ther- 18 eof determined by the commission to have failed to [reasonably] comply 19 as shown by a preponderance of the evidence, at an evidentiary hearing, 20 with a provision of this chapter, regulation or an order adopted under 21 authority of this chapter so long as the same shall be in force shall 22 forfeit a sum [not exceeding the greater of one hundred thousand dollars23or two one-hundredths of one percent of the annual intrastate gross24operating revenue of the corporation, not including taxes paid to and25revenues collected on behalf of government entities, constituting a26civil penalty for each and every offense and, in the case of a continu-27ing violation, each day shall be deemed a separate and distinct offense] 28 that shall be set by the public service commission, after considering 29 the following: 30 (a) the scope of damages caused by the violation to individuals, busi- 31 nesses and the state; 32 (b) each individual act or omission which led to the violation; 33 (c) whether the violation was knowing or willful; 34 (d) whether the violation was recurring, or had been the subject of a 35 previous finding by the commission; 36 (e) whether the violation was of a provision of this chapter, or a 37 regulation or order adopted under the authority of this chapter, 38 adopted specifically for the protection of human safety, including but 39 not limited to the commission's code of gas safety regulations, and 40 whether the violation caused or constituted a contributing factor in 41 bringing about a death or personal injury, as determined by the commis- 42 sion; 43 (f) whether the violation was of a provision of this chapter, or a 44 regulation or order adopted under the authority of this chapter, 45 specifically designed to protect the overall reliability and continuity 46 of service, the duration of any such violation, whether such violation 47 affected the reliability or continuity of service, the duration of any 48 such effect on the reliability or continuity of service, and whether any 49 effect on the reliability or continuity of service was recurring; 50 (g) the economic losses of ratepayers, in the form of increased 51 service rates or otherwise, associated with damage to or weakening of 52 infrastructure in connection with the event out of which the violation 53 arose, including but not limited to investments and costs associated 54 with repairing, improving, or replacing such infrastructure;S. 136--B 5 1 (h) whether the violation was caused in whole or in part due to the 2 systematic failure of the entity to maintain or replace obsolete or 3 deteriorated materials or equipment; 4 (i) the degree of preparation, including but not limited to the utili- 5 zation of mutual aid or other contingent resources, for a storm event or 6 other event out of which the violation arose for which there was advance 7 warning or notice; and 8 (j) mitigating factors relevant to the seriousness of the violation, 9 as determined by the commission. 10 4. [Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision three of this11section, any such combination gas and electric corporation determined by12the commission to have failed to reasonably comply with a provision of13this chapter, or an order or regulation adopted under the authority of14this chapter specifically for the protection of human safety or15prevention of significant damage to real property, including, but not16limited to, the commission's code of gas safety regulations shall, if it17is determined by the commission by a preponderance of the evidence that18such safety violation caused or constituted a contributing factor in19bringing about: (a) a death or personal injury; or (b) damage to real20property in excess of fifty thousand dollars, forfeit a sum not to21exceed the greater of:22(i) two hundred fifty thousand dollars or three one-hundredths of one23percent of the annual intrastate gross operating revenue of the corpo-24ration, not including taxes paid to and revenues collected on behalf of25government entities, whichever is greater, constituting a civil penalty26for each separate and distinct offense; provided, however, that for27purposes of this paragraph, each day of a continuing violation shall not28be deemed a separate and distinct offense. The total period of a contin-29uing violation, as well as every distinct violation, shall be similarly30treated as a separate and distinct offense for purposes of this para-31graph; or32(ii) the maximum forfeiture determined in accordance with subdivision33three of this section.345. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision three or four of this35section, a combination gas and electric corporation determined by the36commission to have failed to reasonably comply by a preponderance of the37evidence with a provision of this chapter, or an order or regulation38adopted under authority of this chapter, designed to protect the overall39reliability and continuity of electric service, including but not limit-40ed to the restoration of electric service following a major outage event41or emergency, shall forfeit a sum not to exceed the greater of:42(a) five hundred thousand dollars or four one-hundredths of one43percent of the annual intrastate gross operating revenue of the corpo-44ration, not including taxes paid to and revenues collected on behalf of45government entities, whichever is greater, constituting a civil penalty46for each separate and distinct offense; provided, however, that for47purposes of this paragraph each day of a continuing violation shall not48be deemed a separate and distinct offense. The total period of a contin-49uing violation, as well as every distinct violation shall be similarly50treated as a separate and distinct offense for purposes of this para-51graph; or52(b) the maximum forfeiture determined in accordance with subdivision53three of this section.546. Any officer of any combination gas and electric corporation deter-55mined by the commission to have violated the provisions of subdivision56three, four, or five of this section, and who knowingly violates aS. 136--B 6 1provision of this chapter, regulation or an order adopted under authori-2ty of this chapter so long as the same shall be in force shall forfeit a3sum not to exceed one hundred thousand dollars constituting a civil4penalty for each and every offense and, in the case of a continuing5violation, each day shall be deemed a separate and distinct offense.67. Any such assessment may be compromised or discontinued by the7commission.] All moneys recovered pursuant to this section, together 8 with the costs thereof, shall be remitted to, or for the benefit of, the 9 ratepayers in a manner to be determined by the commission. 10 [8.] 5. Upon a failure by a combination gas and electric corporation 11 or officer to remit any penalty assessed by the commission pursuant to 12 this section, the commission, through its counsel, may institute an 13 action or special proceeding to collect the penalty in a court of compe- 14 tent jurisdiction. 15 [9.] 6. Any payment made by a combination gas and electric corporation 16 or the officers thereof as a result of an assessment or penalty as 17 provided in this section, and the cost of litigation and investigation 18 related to any such assessment, shall not be recoverable from ratepay- 19 ers. 20 [10.] 7. In construing and enforcing the provisions of this chapter 21 relating to penalties, the act of any director, officer, agent or 22 employee of a combined gas and electric corporation acting within the 23 scope of his or her official duties or employment shall be deemed to be 24 the act of such corporation. 25 [11.] 8. It shall be a violation of this chapter should a director, 26 officer or employee of a public utility company, corporation, person 27 acting in his or her official duties or employment, or an agent acting 28 on behalf of an employer take retaliatory personnel action such as 29 discharge, suspension, demotion, penalization or discrimination against 30 an employee for reporting a violation of a provision of this chapter 31 [of] or an order or regulation adopted under the authority of this chap- 32 ter, including, but not limited to, those governing safe and adequate 33 service, protection of human safety or prevention of significant damage 34 to real property, including, but not limited to, the commission's code 35 of gas safety. Nothing in this subdivision shall be deemed to diminish 36 the rights, privileges or remedies of any employee under any other law 37 or regulation, including but not limited to article twenty-C of the 38 labor law and section seventy-five-b of the civil service law, or under 39 any collective bargaining agreement or employment contract. 40 § 3. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 25-b to 41 read as follows: 42 § 25-b. Administrative actions against other regulated entities. 43 Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, section twenty- 44 five-a of this article shall apply in equal force to: 1. an electric 45 corporation as defined in subdivision thirteen of section two of this 46 article; 2. a gas corporation as defined in subdivision eleven of 47 section two of this article; 3. a cable television company or cable 48 television system as defined in subdivisions one and two of section two 49 hundred twelve of this article; 4. a telephone corporation as defined in 50 subdivision seventeen of section two of this article; 5. a steam corpo- 51 ration as defined in subdivision twenty-two of section two of this arti- 52 cle; and 6. a water-works corporation as defined in subdivision twenty- 53 seven of section two of this article; as well as the officers or 54 employees of any such corporate entities described above.S. 136--B 7 1 § 4. Subdivision 21 of section 66 of the public service law, as 2 amended by section 4 of part X of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, is 3 amended to read as follows: 4 21. (a) Each electric corporation subject to section twenty-five-a of 5 this chapter shall annually, on or before December fifteenth, submit to 6 the commission an emergency response plan for review and approval. The 7 emergency response plan shall be designed for the reasonably prompt 8 restoration of service in the case of an emergency event, defined for 9 purposes of this subdivision as an event where widespread outages have 10 occurred in the service territory of the company due to storms or other 11 causes beyond the control of the company. The emergency response plan 12 shall include, but need not be limited to, the following: (i) the iden- 13 tification of management staff responsible for company operations during 14 an emergency; (ii) a communications plan that includes: (A) a system 15 [with] that communicates service information to customers during an 16 emergency that extends beyond normal business hours and business condi- 17 tions; [(iii)] (B) identification of and outreach plans to customers who 18 had documented their need for essential electricity for medical needs; 19 [(iv)] (C) identification of and outreach plans to customers who had 20 documented their need for essential electricity to provide critical 21 telecommunications, critical transportation, critical fuel distribution 22 services or other large-load customers identified by the commission; 23 [(v)] (D) designation of company staff to communicate with local offi- 24 cials and appropriate regulatory agencies; [(vi)] and (E) identifies, 25 tests and verifies redundancies in communications systems; (iii) 26 provisions regarding how the company will assure the safety of its 27 employees and contractors; [(vii)] (iv) procedures for deploying company 28 and mutual aid crews to work assignment areas; [(viii)] (v) identifica- 29 tion of additional supplies and equipment needed during an emergency; 30 [(ix)] (vi) the means of obtaining additional supplies and equipment; 31 [(x)] (vii) procedures to practice the emergency response plan; [(xi)] 32 (viii) appropriate safety precautions regarding electrical hazards, 33 including plans to promptly secure downed wires within thirty-six hours 34 of notification of the location of such downed wires from a municipal 35 emergency official; and [(xii)] (ix) such other additional information 36 as the commission may require. Each such corporation shall, on an annual 37 basis, undertake drills implementing procedures to practice its emergen- 38 cy management plan. The commission may adopt additional requirements 39 consistent with ensuring the reasonably prompt restoration of service in 40 the case of an emergency event. 41 (b) After review of a corporation's emergency response plan, the 42 commission may require such corporation to amend the plan. The commis- 43 sion may also open an investigation of the corporation's plan to deter- 44 mine its sufficiency to respond adequately to an emergency event. If, 45 after hearings, the commission finds a material deficiency in the plan, 46 it may order the company to make such modifications that it deems 47 reasonably necessary to remedy the deficiency. 48 (c) The commission is authorized to open an investigation to review 49 the performance of any corporation in restoring service, implementing 50 communications plans or otherwise meeting the requirements of the emer- 51 gency response plan during an emergency event. If, after evidentiary 52 hearings or other investigatory proceedings, the commission finds that 53 the corporation failed to [reasonably] implement its emergency response 54 plan or the length of such corporation's outages were materially longer 55 than they would have been, because of such corporation's failure to 56 [reasonably] implement its emergency response plan, the commission mayS. 136--B 8 1 deny the recovery of any part of the service restoration costs caused by 2 such failure, commensurate with the degree and impact of the service 3 outage; provided, however, that nothing herein limits the commission's 4 authority to otherwise commence a proceeding pursuant to sections twen- 5 ty-four, twenty-five and twenty-five-a of this chapter. 6 (d) The commission shall certify to the department of homeland securi- 7 ty and emergency services that each such corporation's emergency 8 response plan is sufficient to ensure to the greatest extent feasible 9 the timely and safe restoration of energy services after an emergency in 10 compliance with the requirements of this chapter. 11 (e) The filing of each emergency response plan required under para- 12 graph (a) of this subdivision shall also include a copy of all written 13 mutual assistance agreements among utilities. 14 (f) Each electric corporation shall file with the county executive or 15 the chief elected official of a county for each county within its 16 service territory the most recent approved copy of the emergency 17 response plan required pursuant to this section. For the purposes of an 18 electric corporation operating within the city of New York, such corpo- 19 ration shall file the most recent approved emergency response plan with 20 the emergency management office of the city of New York. 21 (g) The commission shall provide access to such emergency response 22 plan pursuant to article six of the public officers law. 23 § 5. Section 94 of the public service law is amended by adding a new 24 subdivision 5 to read as follows: 25 5. (a) Each corporation subject to this article shall annually, on or 26 before December fifteenth, submit to the commission an emergency 27 response plan for review and approval. The emergency response plan shall 28 be designed for the reasonably prompt restoration of service in the case 29 of an emergency event, defined for purposes of this subdivision as an 30 event where widespread outages have occurred in the service territory of 31 the company due to storms or other causes beyond the control of the 32 company. The emergency response plan shall include, but need not be 33 limited to, the following: (i) the identification of management staff 34 responsible for company operations during an emergency; (ii) a communi- 35 cations plan that includes (A) a system that communicates service infor- 36 mation to customers during an emergency that extends beyond normal busi- 37 ness hours and business conditions; (B) designation of company staff to 38 communicate with local officials and appropriate regulatory agencies; 39 and (C) identifies, tests and verifies redundancies in communications 40 systems; (iii) provisions regarding how the company will ensure the 41 safety of its employees and contractors; (iv) procedures for deploying 42 personnel crews to work assignment areas; (v) identification of addi- 43 tional supplies and equipment needed during an emergency; (vi) the means 44 of obtaining additional supplies and equipment; (vii) procedures to 45 practice the emergency response plan; and (viii) such other additional 46 information as the commission may require. Each such corporation shall, 47 on an annual basis, undertake drills implementing procedures to practice 48 its emergency management plan. The commission may adopt additional 49 requirements consistent with ensuring the reasonably prompt restoration 50 of service in the case of an emergency event. 51 (b) After review of a corporation's emergency response plan, the 52 commission may require such corporation to amend the plan. The commis- 53 sion may also open an investigation of the corporation's plan to deter- 54 mine its sufficiency to respond adequately to an emergency event. If, 55 after hearings, the commission finds a material deficiency in the plan,S. 136--B 9 1 it may order the company to make such modifications that it deems 2 reasonably necessary to remedy the deficiency. 3 (c) The commission is authorized to open an investigation to review 4 the performance of any corporation in restoring service, implementing 5 communications plans or otherwise meeting the requirements of the emer- 6 gency response plan during an emergency event. 7 (d) Each corporation subject to this article shall file with the coun- 8 ty executive or the chief elected official of a county for each county 9 within its service territory the most recent approved copy of the emer- 10 gency response plan required pursuant to this section. For the purposes 11 of a corporation operating within the city of New York, such corporation 12 shall file the most recent approved emergency response plan with the 13 emergency management office of the city of New York. 14 (e) The commission shall provide access to such emergency response 15 plan pursuant to article six of the public officers law. 16 § 6. Section 216 of the public service law is amended by adding a new 17 subdivision 4-a to read as follows: 18 4-a. (a) Each corporation subject to this article shall annually, on 19 or before December fifteenth, submit to the commission an emergency 20 response plan for review and approval. The emergency response plan shall 21 be designed for the reasonably prompt restoration of service in the case 22 of an emergency event, defined for purposes of this subdivision as an 23 event where widespread outages have occurred in the service territory of 24 the company due to storms or other causes beyond the control of the 25 company. The emergency response plan shall include, but need not be 26 limited to, the following: (i) the identification of management staff 27 responsible for company operations during an emergency; (ii) a communi- 28 cations plan which includes: (A) a system that communicates service 29 information to customers during an emergency that extends beyond normal 30 business hours and business conditions; (B) designation of company staff 31 to communicate with local officials and appropriate regulatory agencies; 32 and (C) identifies, tests and verifies redundancies in communications 33 systems; (iii) provisions regarding how the company will ensure the 34 safety of its employees and contractors; (iv) procedures for deploying 35 personnel crews to work assignment areas; (v) identification of addi- 36 tional supplies and equipment needed during an emergency; (vi) the means 37 of obtaining additional supplies and equipment; (vii) procedures to 38 practice the emergency response plan; and (viii) such other additional 39 information as the commission may require. Each such corporation shall, 40 on an annual basis, undertake drills implementing procedures to practice 41 its emergency management plan. The commission may adopt additional 42 requirements consistent with ensuring the reasonably prompt restoration 43 of service in the case of an emergency event. 44 (b) After review of a corporation's emergency response plan, the 45 commission may require such corporation to amend the plan. The commis- 46 sion may also open an investigation of the corporation's plan to deter- 47 mine its sufficiency to respond adequately to an emergency event. If, 48 after hearings, the commission finds a material deficiency in the plan, 49 it may order the company to make such modifications that it deems 50 reasonably necessary to remedy the deficiency. 51 (c) The commission is authorized to open an investigation to review 52 the performance of any corporation in restoring service, implementing 53 communications plans or otherwise meeting the requirements of the emer- 54 gency response plan during an emergency event. 55 (d) Each corporation subject to this article shall file with the coun- 56 ty executive or the chief elected official of a county for each countyS. 136--B 10 1 within its service territory the most recent approved copy of the emer- 2 gency response plan required pursuant to this section. For the purposes 3 of a corporation operating within the city of New York, such corporation 4 shall file the most recent approved emergency response plan with the 5 emergency management office of the city of New York. 6 (e) The commission shall provide access to such emergency response 7 plan pursuant to article six of the public officers law. 8 § 7. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part 9 of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to 10 be invalid and after exhaustion of all further judicial review, the 11 judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, 12 but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, para- 13 graph, section or part of this act directly involved in the controversy 14 in which the judgment shall have been rendered. 15 § 8. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 16 have become a law. Effective immediately, the department of public 17 service or the public service commission is authorized to promulgate any 18 regulations or orders necessary to implement this act.
