no profit on storm repairs regulators call foreseeable

The text as introduced · 716 words

89R15023 CXP-D

By: McQueeney
H.B. No. 4627

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to electric service quality and reliability.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 36.402, Utilities Code, is amended by

adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:

(b-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), the commission may

not authorize an electric utility to receive a return on equity for

repaired or replaced damaged infrastructure that the commission

determines the utility should have reasonably anticipated could

have been damaged by the weather-related event or natural disaster.

SECTION 2. Section 38.005(b), Utilities Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(b) The commission may take appropriate enforcement action

under this section, including action against a utility, if any of

the utility's feeders with 10 or more customers has had a SAIDI or

SAIFI average that is more than 200 [ 300 ] percent greater than the

system average of all feeders during any two-year period[ ,

beginning in the year 2000 ]. In determining the appropriate

enforcement action, the commission shall consider:

(1) the feeder's operating and maintenance history;

(2) the cause of each interruption in the feeder's

service;

(3) the duration of each interruption in the feeder's

service;

(4) any action taken by a utility to address the

feeder's performance;

(5) [ (4) ] the estimated cost and benefit of

remediating a feeder's performance; and

(6) [ (5) ] any other relevant factor as determined by

the commission.

SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 38, Utilities Code, is

amended by adding Section 38.006 to read as follows:

Sec. 38.006. STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY STANDARDS FOR

TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION POLES. (a) This section applies

only to an electric utility, municipally owned utility, or electric

cooperative that operates transmission or distribution assets.

(b) The commission by rule shall adopt standards for the

structural integrity of transmission and distribution poles.

(c) The standards adopted under this section must:

(1) require an electric utility, municipally owned

utility, or electric cooperative to inspect transmission and

distribution poles and take appropriate remedial action as

necessary on a timeline established by the commission;

(2) account for geographic differences between

regions of the state;

(3) consider national guidelines such as the National

Electrical Safety Code and guidelines developed by the Rural

Utilities Service of the United States Department of Agriculture;

and

(4) establish a classification system to assess the

serviceability of transmission and distribution poles.

(d) Each electric utility, municipally owned utility, and

electric cooperative shall submit to the commission an annual

report on:

(1) the implementation of the utility's or

cooperative's transmission and distribution pole maintenance

schedule;

(2) the results of the utility's or cooperative's

inspection of transmission and distribution poles, including any

remediation or replacement action taken; and

(3) any other information the commission requires.

SECTION 4. The heading to Subchapter E, Chapter 38,

Utilities Code, is amended to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER E. INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT AND MAINTENANCE [ REPORT ]

SECTION 5. Section 38.101(a), Utilities Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(a) Not later than May 1 of each year, each electric utility

shall submit to the commission a report describing the utility's

activities related to:

(1) identifying areas that are susceptible to damage

during severe weather and hardening transmission and distribution

facilities in those areas; and

(2) vegetation management[ ; and

[ (3) inspecting distribution poles ].

SECTION 6. (a) The changes in law made by this Act to

Section 38.005, Utilities Code, apply only to an enforcement action

initiated by the Public Utility Commission of Texas on or after the

effective date of this Act. An enforcement action initiated before

the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect

immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the former

law is continued in effect for that purpose.

(b) In adopting rules under Section 38.006, Utilities Code,

as added by this Act, the Public Utility Commission of Texas shall

allow an electric utility, electric cooperative, or municipally

owned utility to complete any required inspection, remediation, or

replacement of transmission and distribution poles installed

before the effective date of the rules according to a reasonable

timeline approved by the commission that allows the utility or

cooperative to prioritize high-risk transmission and distribution

poles.

SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.