Bill Text: HI SB2091 | 2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relating To Public Utilities.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-1)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2024-03-07 - Referred to EEP/WAL, CPC, referral sheet 16 [SB2091 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2024-SB2091-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
2091 |
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THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024 |
S.D. 2 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
"§269- Telecommunications providers to notify of
deenergization of electrical lines. (a) In
preparation for receiving notifications regarding the deenergization of
electrical lines, all facilities-based mobile telecommunications service providers
shall:
(1) Designate contact points or persons
within the company to receive notifications from an electric utility for
expected deenergization of electrical lines; and
(2) Develop uniform protocols prior to a
deenergization event to respond appropriately to an outage.
(b) Upon receipt of a notification regarding the
deenergization of electrical lines, a facilities-based mobile
telecommunications service provider shall communicate relevant information
relating to the deenergization of electrical lines to public safety or
emergency response offices for the affected areas.
§269- Electric utility companies; wildfire
mitigation plan. (a) Each electric utility in the State shall
construct, maintain, and operate the utility's electrical lines and equipment
in a manner that shall minimize the risk of catastrophic wildfire posed by the
electrical lines and equipment.
(b) The commission may periodically convene
community outreach meetings for the purpose of helping electric utilities
identify, adopt, and carry out best practices regarding wildfires, including
but not limited to risk-based wildfire
protection
and risk-based wildfire mitigation procedures and standards.
(c) An electric utility shall adopt, and operate
in compliance with, a risk-based wildfire mitigation plan that is filed with
the commission and evaluated and approved by the commission. The plan shall be based on reasonable and
prudent practices and on commission standards as adopted by rule. The electric utility shall design the plan in
a manner that seeks to protect public safety, reduce risk to utility customers,
and promote electrical system resilience to wildfire damage.
(d) An electric utility shall submit, and annually
update a risk-based wildfire mitigation plan on a schedule as determined by the
commission. The plan shall, at a
minimum:
(1) Identify
areas that are subject to a heightened risk of wildfire;
(2) Identify
a means for mitigating wildfire risk that reflects a reasonable balancing of
mitigation costs with the resulting reduction of wildfire risk;
(3) Identify
preventive actions and programs that the electric utility shall carry out to
minimize the risk of utility facilities causing a wildfire;
(4) After
seeking input from relevant governmental entities, identify a protocol for the
deenergizing of power lines and adjusting of power system operations to
mitigate wildfires, promote the safety of the public and first responders, and
preserve health and communication infrastructure, which shall include:
(A) Protocols for deenergizing electrical lines that consider the
associated impacts on public safety, including protocols related to mitigating
the public safety impacts on critical first responders and health and
communication infrastructures;
(B) Procedures for notifying a customer who may be impacted by the
deenergizing of electrical lines;
(C) Procedures for notifying public safety offices, critical first
responders, health care facilities, and telecommunications service providers
who are within the deenergizing areas about the deenergizing of electrical
lines; and
(D) Protocols for deenergizing electrical lines when the
deenergization may impact customers or entities who are dependent on the infrastructure;
(5) Describe
the procedures, standards, and time frames that the electric utility will use
to inspect utility infrastructure in areas that the electric utility identifies
under paragraph (1);
(6) Describe
the procedures, standards, and time frames that the electric utility will use
to carry out vegetation management in areas that the electric utility
identifies under paragraph (1);
(7) Identify
the estimated development, implementation, and administration costs for the
plan;
(8) Identify
the community outreach and public awareness efforts that the electric utility
will use with respect to wildfires; and
(9) Identify
the timelines, as applicable, for development, implementation, and
administration of any aspects of the plan.
(e) Not more than
days after an electric utility files a plan or plan update, the commission
shall approve, approve with conditions on the plan, or update the plan if the commission
finds that the plan or update is based on reasonable and prudent practices and
designed to meet all applicable rules and standards adopted by the commission. The commission may, in approving the plan or updating
with conditions, make modifications or updates to the plan that it believes represent
a reasonable balancing of mitigation costs with the resulting reduction of
wildfire risk. The commission shall
issue a decision explaining any modifications at the time it approves the plan.
The commission may consult with and
consider information from governmental entities, including counties, as well as
other industry organizations; provided that the commission identifies the
nature of the consultation in its decision.
(f) The commission may adopt rules for the
implementation of this section. The
rules may include procedures and standards
regarding
vegetation management, public power safety shutoffs and restorations, pole
materials, circuitry, and monitoring systems.
(g) In its decision pursuant to subsection (e),
the commission shall determine the reasonable costs to develop, implement, and
administer the plan and shall authorize the electric utility to recover the
costs in rates. The commission shall
establish a method to allow timely recovery of the costs it authorizes for
recovery. The commission shall assess
these costs on a statewide basis based on the development, implementation, and
administration costs for the plan; provided that the commission shall not
assess the costs based on the utility service territory that is particularly
affected by any aspect of the plan. The
electric utility shall track the costs it incurs to develop, implement, and
administer the plan.
In its submission under subsection (d),
the electric utility shall report on the costs as actually incurred for the
most recent past period for which the information is
available.
If the actual costs are:
(1) Less than the amounts the commission determined were reasonable in its decision under subsection (e), the commission shall direct the electric utility to refund or credit the costs to ratepayers; and
(2) Equal
to or greater than the amounts the commission determined were reasonable in its
decision under subsection (e), then the commission shall not direct the
electric utility to refund to ratepayers the amount the commission previously
determined was reasonable, but may disallow the recovery from ratepayers of any
additional costs the commission finds were unreasonable. In connection with any review:
(A) Actual costs that are not more than fifteen per cent greater than the costs the commission previously determined were reasonable shall be presumed prudent and authorized for recovery from ratepayers absent proof by clear and convincing evidence that the costs were unreasonable; and
(B) The electric utility shall have the burden of proving the
reasonableness of actual costs that are more than fifteen per cent greater than
the costs the commission previously determined were reasonable.
(h)
For the purposes of this section:
"Commission" means the public
utilities commission.
"Electric utility" means a
public utility that exists for the furnishing of electric power.
"Plan" means the risk-based
wildfire mitigation plan described in subsection (d)."
SECTION 2. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2040.
Report Title:
PUC; Wildfires; Deenergizing Electrical Lines; Notification; Telecommunications; Electric Utilities; Mitigation Plan; Rulemaking
Description:
Requires all telecommunications service providers to communicate relevant information relating to the deenergization of electrical lines to public safety or emergency response offices for the affected areas. Requires all electric utilities to operate electrical lines and equipment in a manner that shall minimize the risk of catastrophic wildfire posed by the electrical lines and equipment. Requires each electric utility to prepare a wildfire mitigation plan approved by the Public Utilities Commission and protocols for deenergizing electrical lines. Allows the Public Utilities Commission to adopt rules. Takes effect 7/1/2040. (SD2)
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
