S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
6285
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
March 3, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. OTIS, BURDICK, PAULIN, ROZIC, SAYEGH, SEAWRIGHT,
SIMON, JACOBSON, SHIMSKY -- 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:
Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 21 of section 66 of the public
service law, as separately amended by chapters 395 and 743 of the laws
of 2022, subparagraph (iii) as separately amended by chapter 38 of the
laws of 2023, subparagraph (xi) as separately amended by chapter 743 of
the laws of 2022 and chapter 38 of the laws of 2024, subparagraphs
(xii), (xiii) and (xiv) as amended by chapter 38 of the laws of 2024, 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, cyber attack, or
other causes beyond the control of the company. TO SUPPORT REASONABLY
PROMPT RESTORATION OF SERVICE IN THE CASE OF AN EMERGENCY EVENT, EMER-
GENCY 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 COMMIS-
SION. IN ESTABLISHING SUCH TIME-BASED RESTORATION SCHEDULE, THE COMMIS-
SION SHOULD UTILIZE BENCHMARKS FOR THE RESTORATION OF SERVICE WHICH
INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, THE PERCENTAGE OF CUSTOMERS RESTORED
WITHIN EACH TWENTY-FOUR-HOUR INTERVAL FOLLOWING THE EMERGENCY EVENT
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05817-01-5
A. 6285 2
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, 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 management staff
responsible for company operations during an emergency; (ii) a communi-
cations system with customers during an emergency that extends beyond
normal business hours and business conditions; (iii) identification of
and outreach plans to customers who had documented their need for essen-
tial electricity for medical needs, which shall include but not be
limited to, apnea monitors for infants, cuirass respirators, hemodialy-
sis machines, IV feeding machines, IV medical infusion machines, oxygen
concentrators, positive pressure respirators, respirator/ventilators,
rocking bed respirators, suction machines, and tank type respirators;
(iv) identification of and outreach plans to customers who had docu-
mented their need for essential electricity to provide critical telecom-
munications, critical transportation, critical fuel distribution
services or other large-load customers identified by the commission; (v)
designation of company staff to communicate 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 precautions regarding electrical hazards, including
plans to promptly secure downed wires within thirty-six hours of notifi-
cation of the location of such downed wires from a municipal emergency
official; (xii) plans to prioritize the securing of downed wires over
routine maintenance or other work unrelated to a response to an emergen-
cy event after notification by an individual of the location of such
downed wires and where such notification includes information indicating
wire burning, arcing/sparking, or the restriction of ingress and egress
from a building or vehicle, or other immediate hazards. Such plans
shall, at minimum, include procedures to identify, locate, and assess
the reported wire no later than seventy-two hours after the response to
an emergency event ends; (xiii) plans setting forth how the communi-
cation and coordination of efforts between the electric corporation,
electric corporation employees, electric corporation company crews,
mutual aid crews, other utilities, local governments and any other enti-
ty performing services to assist such electric corporation shall occur;
and (xiv) 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.