Senate Bill S4430

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4430
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 4, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on  Energy  and  Telecommuni-
   cations
 
 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
              

 S. 4430                             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.