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A04980 Summary:

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A04980 Floor Votes:

A04980 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          4980
 
                               2011-2012 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    February 9, 2011
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced   by  M.  of  A.  BING,  CAHILL,  SIMOTAS,  MARKEY,  PHEFFER,
          N. RIVERA, REILLY, GIBSON -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of  A.  BRENNAN,
          COLTON,  DESTITO, GABRYSZAK, GLICK, GOTTFRIED, McENENY, SWEENEY, WEIN-
          STEIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Energy
 
        AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to electric  utility

          emergency plans
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Subdivision 21 of section 66 of the public service law,  as
     2  added by chapter 718 of the laws of 1980, is amended to read as follows:
     3    21.  (a)  The  commission  shall require every electric corporation to
     4  submit [storm] electric utility emergency plans to  the  commission  for
     5  review  and  approval  at  such times and in such detail and form as the
     6  commission shall require, provided, however,  that  the  same  shall  be
     7  filed  at  least  annually.  Such  plans  shall  set  forth (1) training
     8  programs and exercises, planning, coordination of corporation  personnel
     9  and outside service restoration aid, and other preparatory actions to be

    10  undertaken  on  a  scheduled  basis and in anticipation of major storms,
    11  other adverse weather conditions or other  events  that  may  result  in
    12  service  outages, (2) procedures to be followed for accurately determin-
    13  ing the extent of a  service  outage,  including  determination  of  the
    14  location  of  affected  areas, the estimated number of customers and the
    15  overall number of people  affected  by  loss  of  power  or  by  voltage
    16  reductions, (3) procedures for estimating the time required for restora-
    17  tion  of  service to areas affected by the outage and communicating with
    18  media, life support and other special needs customers, public officials,
    19  medical and critical care facilities and the public,  (4)  policies  for

    20  initiating  and  implementing load relief and load control programs, (5)
    21  procedures for obtaining and distributing dry ice, drinking water, emer-
    22  gency meals and other items that may become necessary in the event of an
    23  extended service outage, (6) procedures for management responsibilities,
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02120-01-1
        A. 4980                             2
 
     1  reporting and decision making needed to execute the plan,  and  (7)  any
     2  other information that the commission may require.
     3    (b)  Each  year,  on or before the first day of April or on such other

     4  date as the commission may prescribe, each  electric  corporation  shall
     5  (1)  file  an  electric utility emergency plan including any such amend-
     6  ments as it deems necessary, or as the commission may require, to  main-
     7  tain  a  high  level of preparedness, and (2) certify in a report to the
     8  commission that within the past twelve months it has periodically  veri-
     9  fied  telephone  and  other appropriate contacts and updated its list of
    10  internal and external contact persons necessary to execute the plan, and
    11  has conducted one or more emergency exercises involving  the  management
    12  of  the  corporation and key company personnel assigned service restora-
    13  tion responsibilities. Prior  to  approving  any  such  submission,  the

    14  commission  shall seek comments from interested state and local agencies
    15  and members of the public, and may require  modifications  or  otherwise
    16  prescribe  conditions  for  approval.   The commission shall ensure that
    17  comments are solicited from the state emergency management  office,  the
    18  state  office of homeland security and other appropriate state and local
    19  agencies,  and  from  organizations  that  provide  emergency   shelter,
    20  warming/cooling  stations  and  other  relief  efforts.   As part of its
    21  review, the commission shall review the adequacy  of  any  policies  for
    22  reimbursing  customers  for  losses due to outages or inadvertent inten-
    23  tional shutoffs of electricity. Such review shall include  consideration

    24  of the appropriateness of any policy of providing for, limiting or deny-
    25  ing  reimbursement  for  damages to electrical equipment or other losses
    26  attributable to the failure to deliver  electricity  or  to  significant
    27  reductions  in  the  voltage of electricity delivered, including loss of
    28  business opportunities, and the appropriateness of any  duration  stand-
    29  ards in such policies. Such review shall also include the sufficiency of
    30  any monetary limits in such policies.
    31    (c)  Within  sixty days following completion of service restoration in
    32  an emergency where the restoration  period  exceeds  forty-eight  hours,
    33  each electric corporation shall submit to the commission a review of all

    34  aspects  of its preparation and system restoration performance. Based on
    35  this review or upon its own assessment  of  the  electric  corporation's
    36  performance  in  responding  to such emergency, the commission may imme-
    37  diately order any modifications or conditions to the corporation's emer-
    38  gency plan that it deems necessary to ensure a high level  of  prepared-
    39  ness.
    40    (d) The names and contact information of employees and outside contact
    41  persons  may  be  deleted  from  copies of the plan available for public
    42  inspection, but such deleted information shall be subject to  inspection
    43  by  the  commission  and  state  employees.  An electric corporation may
    44  request that the commission designate as confidential internal  security

    45  matters  and any other information required to be submitted in emergency
    46  plans. Such requests shall identify the specific  information  requested
    47  to  be  treated as confidential and shall explain why confidentiality is
    48  sought. Unless the commission directs otherwise, such information  shall
    49  not be included in the plans available for public inspection.
    50    (e)  The  commission shall encourage electric corporations to identify
    51  and disseminate best practices in emergency planning  and  response.  In
    52  addition  to  overseeing  dissemination  of best practices on an ongoing
    53  basis, the commission shall  be  authorized  to  initiate  a  statewide,
    54  collaborative emergency preparedness and storm management planning proc-

    55  ess  involving  all  electric  corporations and other involved organiza-
    56  tions.
        A. 4980                             3
 
     1    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
     2  it shall have become a law. Provided, that the public service commission
     3  is immediately authorized and directed to  take  any  and  all  actions,
     4  including  but  not  limited to the promulgation of any necessary rules,
     5  necessary to fully implement the provisions of this act on its effective
     6  date.