Senate Bill S4030A

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  4030--A
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 1, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on  Energy  and  Telecommuni-
   cations  --  committee  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
   amended and recommitted to said committee
 
 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:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 21 of section 66 of the public
 service  law,  as added by section 4 of part X of chapter 57 of the laws
 of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   (a) Each electric corporation subject to section twenty-five-a of this
 chapter shall annually, on or before December fifteenth, submit  to  the
 commission an emergency response plan for review and approval. The emer-
 gency response plan shall be designed for the reasonably prompt restora-
 tion  of service in the case of an emergency event, defined for purposes
 of this subdivision as an event where widespread outages  have  occurred
 in  the  service  territory of the company due to storms or other causes
 beyond the control of the company. TO SUPPORT REASONABLY PROMPT RESTORA-
 TION OF SERVICE IN THE CASE OF AN EMERGENCY  EVENT,  EMERGENCY  RESPONSE
 PLANS  SHOULD  INCLUDE  DETAILS OF STAFFING, EQUIPMENT AND A PERFORMANCE
 SCHEDULE WITH THE GOAL OF ACHIEVING RESTORATION OF SERVICE BASED UPON  A
 TIME-BASED RESTORATION SCHEDULE ESTABLISHED BY THE COMMISSION. IN ESTAB-
 LISHING  SUCH  TIME-BASED  RESTORATION  SCHEDULES, THE COMMISSION SHOULD
 UTILIZE BENCHMARKS FOR THE RESTORATION OF SERVICE WHICH INCLUDE, BUT ARE
 NOT LIMITED TO, THE PERCENTAGE OF CUSTOMERS RESTORED WITHIN  EACH  TWEN-
 TY-FOUR-HOUR INTERVAL FOLLOWING THE STORM AND CONSIDERATION OF DIFFERENT
 KINDS  OF  STORM  EVENTS. The emergency response plan shall include, but
 need not be limited to, the following: (i) the identification of manage-
 ment staff responsible for company operations during an emergency;  (ii)
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD02409-02-1

 S. 4030--A                          2
 
 a  communications system with customers during an emergency that extends
 beyond normal business hours and business conditions; (iii)  identifica-
 tion  of  and  outreach plans to customers who had documented their need
 for  essential electricity for medical needs; (iv) identification of and
 outreach plans to customers who had documented their need for  essential
 electricity to provide critical telecommunications, critical transporta-
 tion,  critical fuel distribution services or other large-load customers
 identified by the commission; (v) designation of company staff to commu-
 nicate with local officials and appropriate  regulatory  agencies;  (vi)
 provisions  regarding  how  the  company  will  assure the safety of its
 employees and contractors; (vii) procedures for  deploying  company  and
 mutual  aid  crews  to  work  assignment areas; (viii) identification of
 additional supplies and equipment needed during an emergency;  (ix)  the
 means  of obtaining additional supplies and equipment; (x) procedures to
 practice the emergency response plan; (xi)  appropriate  safety  precau-
 tions  regarding  electrical hazards, including plans to promptly secure
 downed wires within thirty-six hours of notification of the location  of
 such  downed  wires  from a municipal emergency official; and (xii) such
 other additional information as the commission may  require.  Each  such
 corporation  shall,  on  an  annual basis, undertake drills implementing
 procedures to practice its emergency management plan. The commission may
 adopt additional requirements consistent with  ensuring  the  reasonably
 prompt restoration of service in the case of an emergency event.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.