Bill Text: NY S01701 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to strengthening of utility storm response and compliance by reviewing mitigating factors including but not limited to mitigating factors and the specifics surrounding the violation or violations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-21 - REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO RULES [S01701 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-S01701-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1701 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 13, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. MAYER, COMRIE, HARCKHAM, HINCHEY, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, SALAZAR, WEBB -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommunications AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to strengthening of utility storm response and compliance The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 25 of the public service law, as added by chapter 2 665 of the laws of 1980, subdivision 2, paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 3 and paragraph (a) of subdivision 4 as amended by chapter 375 of the laws 4 of 1986, subdivision 4-a as added by chapter 334 of the laws of 2024, 5 subdivision 4-a as added by chapter 675 of the laws of 2024, is amended 6 to read as follows: 7 § 25. Penalties. 1. Every public utility company, corporation or 8 person and the officers, agents and employees thereof shall obey and 9 comply with every provision of this chapter and every order or regu- 10 lation adopted under authority of this chapter so long as the same shall 11 be in force. 12 2. Any public utility company, corporation or person and the officers, 13 agents and employees thereof that knowingly fails or neglects to obey or 14 comply with a provision of this chapter or a regulation or [an] order 15 adopted under authority of this chapter so long as the same shall be in 16 force, shall forfeit to the people of the state of New York a sum [not17exceeding one hundred thousand dollars constituting a civil penalty for18each and every offense and, in the case of a continuing violation, each19day shall be deemed a separate and distinct offense] that shall be set 20 by the public service commission after considering the following: 21 (a) the scope of damages caused by the violation to individuals, busi- 22 nesses and the state; 23 (b) each individual act or omission which led to the violation; 24 (c) whether the violation was knowing or willful; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03579-01-5S. 1701 2 1 (d) whether the violation was recurring, or had been the subject of a 2 previous finding by the commission; 3 (e) whether the violation was of a provision of this chapter, or a 4 regulation or order adopted under the authority of this chapter, adopted 5 specifically for the protection of human safety, including but not 6 limited to the commission's code of gas safety regulations, and whether 7 the violation caused or constituted a contributing factor in bringing 8 about a death or personal injury, as determined by the commission; 9 (f) whether the violation was of a provision of this chapter, or a 10 regulation or order adopted under the authority of this chapter, specif- 11 ically designed to protect the overall reliability and continuity of 12 service, the duration of any such violation, whether such violation 13 affected the reliability or continuity of service, the duration of any 14 such effect on the reliability or continuity of service, and whether any 15 effect on the reliability or continuity of service was recurring; 16 (g) the economic losses of ratepayers, in the form of increased 17 service rates or otherwise, associated with damage to or weakening of 18 infrastructure in connection with the event out of which the violation 19 arose, including but not limited to investments and costs associated 20 with repairing, improving, or replacing such infrastructure; 21 (h) whether the violation was caused in whole or in part due to the 22 systematic failure of the entity to maintain or replace obsolete or 23 deteriorated materials or equipment; 24 (i) the degree of preparation, including but not limited to the utili- 25 zation of mutual aid or other contingent resources, for a storm event or 26 other event out of which the violation arose for which there was advance 27 warning or notice; 28 (j) with respect to telephone corporations, cable television companies 29 and the officers, agents and employees thereof, whether a loss of 30 commercial electricity caused the violation; and 31 (k) mitigating factors relevant to the seriousness of the violation, 32 as determined by the commission. 33 3. [Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision two of this section,34any such public utility company, corporation or person and the officers,35agents and employees thereof that knowingly fails or neglects to obey or36comply with a provision of this chapter, or an order or regulation37adopted under the authority of this chapter, adopted specifically for38the protection of human safety, including but not limited to the commis-39sion's code of gas safety regulations shall, if it is determined by the40commission that such safety violation caused or constituted a contribut-41ing factor in bringing about a death or personal injury, forfeit to the42state of New York a sum not to exceed the greater of:43(a) two hundred and fifty thousand dollars constituting a civil penal-44ty for each separate and distinct offense; provided, however, that for45purposes of this paragraph each day of a continuing violation shall not46be deemed a separate and distinct offense. The total period of a contin-47uing violation, as well as every distinct violation, shall be similarly48treated as a separate and distinct offense for purposes of this para-49graph; or50(b) the maximum forfeiture determined in accordance with subdivision51two of this section.524. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one or two of this53section, a public utility company, corporation or person and the offi-54cers, agents and employees thereof that knowingly fails or neglects to55obey or comply with a provision of this chapter, or an order or regu-56lation adopted under authority of this chapter, designed to protect theS. 1701 3 1overall reliability and continuity of electric service, shall forfeit to2the state of New York a sum not to exceed the greater of:3(a) five hundred thousand dollars constituting a civil penalty for4each separate and distinct offense; provided, however, that for purposes5of this paragraph each day of a continuing violation shall not be deemed6a separate and distinct offense. The total period of a continuing7violation, as well as every distinct violation, shall be similarly8treated as a separate and distinct offense for purposes of this para-9graph; or10(b) the maximum forfeiture determined in accordance with subdivision11two of this section.124-a.] (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one or two of 13 this section, any public utility company or corporation, and the offi- 14 cers, agents or employees thereof that knowingly makes a false material 15 statement, representation or certification to the commission in any rate 16 proceeding shall forfeit to the state of New York a sum not to exceed 17 two hundred fifty thousand dollars. Each false material statement, 18 representation or certification shall constitute a separate and distinct 19 offense for purposes of this section. 20 (b) A public utility company or corporation, and the officers, agents 21 or employees thereof that discover that a false material statement, 22 representation or certification was previously made to the commission in 23 relation to a rate proceeding shall disclose such false material state- 24 ment, representation or certification to the commission within three 25 business days of discovery. Failure to make such disclosure shall 26 constitute a knowing violation of this subdivision and shall cause such 27 public utility company or corporation and the officers, agents or 28 employees thereof to be liable for forfeiture pursuant to this subdivi- 29 sion. 30 [4-a.] 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision two of this 31 section, any such public utility company, corporation or person and the 32 officers, agents and employees thereof that knowingly fails or neglects 33 to obey or comply with section sixty-five of this chapter, or an order 34 or regulation adopted pursuant to section sixty-five of this chapter, or 35 such public utility company, corporation or person and the officers, 36 agents and employees thereof knowingly sends a customer assistance 37 inquiry outside a gas or electric corporation's New York state service 38 territory or outside the state of New York without notice, a hearing and 39 approval before the commission pursuant to section sixty-five of this 40 chapter, shall forfeit to the state of New York a sum not to exceed the 41 greater of: 42 (a) fifty thousand dollars constituting a civil penalty for each sepa- 43 rate and distinct customer service inquiry sent outside of New York and 44 one hundred thousand dollars constituting a civil penalty for each day a 45 call center or other facility providing the customer assistance is 46 closed; or 47 (b) the maximum forfeiture determined in accordance with subdivision 48 two of this section. 49 5. Penalties provided for pursuant to this section shall be recovered 50 in an action as provided in section twenty-four of this article. 51 6. Any payment made by a public utility company, corporation or person 52 and the officers, agents and employees thereof as a result of an action 53 as provided in section twenty-four of this article and the cost of liti- 54 gation and investigation related to any such action shall not be 55 included by the commission in revenue requirements used to establish 56 rates and charges.S. 1701 4 1 7. In construing and enforcing the provisions of this chapter relating 2 to forfeitures and penalties, the act of any director, officer, agent or 3 employee of a public utility company, corporation or person acting with- 4 in the scope of [his or her] their official duties or employment shall 5 be deemed to be the act of such public utility company, corporation or 6 person. 7 § 2. Section 25-a of the public service law, as added by section 2 of 8 part X of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows: 9 § 25-a. Combination gas and electric corporations; administrative 10 sanctions; recovery of penalties. Notwithstanding sections twenty-four 11 and twenty-five of this article: 1. Every combination gas and electric 12 corporation and the officers thereof shall adhere to every provision of 13 this chapter and every order or regulation adopted under authority of 14 this chapter so long as the same shall be in force. 15 2. (a) The commission shall have the authority to assess a civil 16 penalty in an amount as set forth in this section and against a combina- 17 tion gas and electric corporation and the officers thereof subject to 18 the jurisdiction, supervision, or regulation pursuant to this chapter 19 [in an amount as set forth in this section. In determining the amount of20any penalty to be assessed pursuant to this section, the commission21shall consider: (i) the seriousness of the violation for which a penalty22is sought; (ii) the nature and extent of any previous violations for23which penalties have been assessed against the corporation or officer;24(iii) whether there was knowledge of the violation; (iv) the gross25revenues and financial status of the corporation; and (v) such other26factors as the commission may deem appropriate and relevant]. 27 The remedies provided by this subdivision are in addition to any other 28 remedies provided in law. 29 (b) Whenever the commission has reason to believe that a combination 30 gas and electric corporation or such officers thereof should be subject 31 to imposition of a civil penalty as set forth in this subdivision, it 32 shall notify such corporation or officer. Such notice shall include, 33 but shall not be limited to: (i) the date and a brief description of the 34 facts and nature of each act or failure to act for which such penalty is 35 proposed; (ii) a list of each statute, regulation or order that the 36 commission alleges has been violated; [and] (iii) the amount of each 37 penalty that the commission proposes to [assess] be assessed; and (iv) 38 any proposed actions that the commission deems necessary to address such 39 alleged violation or violations. The commission is authorized to under- 40 take any additional administrative or investigatory actions related 41 to such violation or violations, including but not limited to, service 42 of an administrative complaint, implementation of discovery, interviews, 43 depositions, entering into a settlement agreement or other stipulation, 44 and the holding of evidentiary hearings, as provided in this chapter. 45 (c) Whenever the commission has reason to believe that a combination 46 gas and electric corporation or such officers thereof should be subject 47 to imposition of a civil penalty or penalties as set forth in this 48 subdivision, the commission shall hold a hearing to demonstrate why the 49 proposed penalty or penalties should be assessed against such combina- 50 tion gas and electric corporation or such officers. 51 3. Any combination gas and electric corporation or such officers ther- 52 eof determined by the commission to have failed to [reasonably] comply 53 as shown by a preponderance of the evidence, at an evidentiary hearing, 54 with a provision of this chapter, regulation or an order adopted under 55 authority of this chapter so long as the same shall be in force shall 56 forfeit a sum [not exceeding the greater of one hundred thousand dollarsS. 1701 5 1or two one-hundredths of one percent of the annual intrastate gross2operating revenue of the corporation, not including taxes paid to and3revenues collected on behalf of government entities, constituting a4civil penalty for each and every offense and, in the case of a continu-5ing violation, each day shall be deemed a separate and distinct offense] 6 that shall be set by the public service commission, after considering 7 the following: 8 (a) the scope of damages caused by the violation to individuals, busi- 9 nesses and the state; 10 (b) each individual act or omission which led to the violation; 11 (c) whether the violation was knowing or willful; 12 (d) whether the violation was recurring, or had been the subject of a 13 previous finding by the commission; 14 (e) whether the violation was of a provision of this chapter, or a 15 regulation or order adopted under the authority of this chapter, 16 adopted specifically for the protection of human safety, including but 17 not limited to the commission's code of gas safety regulations, and 18 whether the violation caused or constituted a contributing factor in 19 bringing about a death or personal injury, as determined by the commis- 20 sion; 21 (f) whether the violation was of a provision of this chapter, or a 22 regulation or order adopted under the authority of this chapter, 23 specifically designed to protect the overall reliability and continuity 24 of service, the duration of any such violation, whether such violation 25 affected the reliability or continuity of service, the duration of any 26 such effect on the reliability or continuity of service, and whether any 27 effect on the reliability or continuity of service was recurring; 28 (g) the economic losses of ratepayers, in the form of increased 29 service rates or otherwise, associated with damage to or weakening of 30 infrastructure in connection with the event out of which the violation 31 arose, including but not limited to investments and costs associated 32 with repairing, improving, or replacing such infrastructure; 33 (h) whether the violation was caused in whole or in part due to the 34 systematic failure of the entity to maintain or replace obsolete or 35 deteriorated materials or equipment; 36 (i) the degree of preparation, including but not limited to the utili- 37 zation of mutual aid or other contingent resources, for a storm event or 38 other event out of which the violation arose for which there was advance 39 warning or notice; 40 (j) with respect to any telephone corporation or cable television 41 company to which this section applies by reason of the application of 42 section twenty-five-b of this article, and with respect to any officer 43 of any such telephone corporation or cable television company, whether a 44 loss of commercial electricity caused the violation; and 45 (k) mitigating factors relevant to the seriousness of the violation, 46 as determined by the commission. 47 4. [Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision three of this48section, any such combination gas and electric corporation determined by49the commission to have failed to reasonably comply with a provision of50this chapter, or an order or regulation adopted under the authority of51this chapter specifically for the protection of human safety or52prevention of significant damage to real property, including, but not53limited to, the commission's code of gas safety regulations shall, if it54is determined by the commission by a preponderance of the evidence that55such safety violation caused or constituted a contributing factor in56bringing about: (a) a death or personal injury; or (b) damage to realS. 1701 6 1property in excess of fifty thousand dollars, forfeit a sum not to2exceed the greater of:3(i) two hundred fifty thousand dollars or three one-hundredths of one4percent of the annual intrastate gross operating revenue of the corpo-5ration, not including taxes paid to and revenues collected on behalf of6government entities, whichever is greater, constituting a civil penalty7for each separate and distinct offense; provided, however, that for8purposes of this paragraph, each day of a continuing violation shall not9be deemed a separate and distinct offense. The total period of a contin-10uing violation, as well as every distinct violation, shall be similarly11treated as a separate and distinct offense for purposes of this para-12graph; or13(ii) the maximum forfeiture determined in accordance with subdivision14three of this section.155. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision three or four of this16section, a combination gas and electric corporation determined by the17commission to have failed to reasonably comply by a preponderance of the18evidence with a provision of this chapter, or an order or regulation19adopted under authority of this chapter, designed to protect the overall20reliability and continuity of electric service, including but not limit-21ed to the restoration of electric service following a major outage event22or emergency, shall forfeit a sum not to exceed the greater of:23(a) five hundred thousand dollars or four one-hundredths of one24percent of the annual intrastate gross operating revenue of the corpo-25ration, not including taxes paid to and revenues collected on behalf of26government entities, whichever is greater, constituting a civil penalty27for each separate and distinct offense; provided, however, that for28purposes of this paragraph each day of a continuing violation shall not29be deemed a separate and distinct offense. The total period of a contin-30uing violation, as well as every distinct violation shall be similarly31treated as a separate and distinct offense for purposes of this para-32graph; or33(b) the maximum forfeiture determined in accordance with subdivision34three of this section.356. Any officer of any combination gas and electric corporation deter-36mined by the commission to have violated the provisions of subdivision37three, four, or five of this section, and who knowingly violates a38provision of this chapter, regulation or an order adopted under authori-39ty of this chapter so long as the same shall be in force shall forfeit a40sum not to exceed one hundred thousand dollars constituting a civil41penalty for each and every offense and, in the case of a continuing42violation, each day shall be deemed a separate and distinct offense.437. Any such assessment may be compromised or discontinued by the44commission.] All moneys recovered pursuant to this section, together 45 with the costs thereof, shall be remitted to, or for the benefit of, the 46 ratepayers in a manner to be determined by the commission. 47 [8.] 5. Upon a failure by a combination gas and electric corporation 48 or officer to remit any penalty assessed by the commission pursuant to 49 this section, the commission, through its counsel, may institute an 50 action or special proceeding to collect the penalty in a court of compe- 51 tent jurisdiction. 52 [9.] 6. Any payment made by a combination gas and electric corporation 53 or the officers thereof as a result of an assessment or penalty as 54 provided in this section, and the cost of litigation and investigation 55 related to any such assessment, shall not be recoverable from ratepay- 56 ers.S. 1701 7 1 [10.] 7. In construing and enforcing the provisions of this chapter 2 relating to penalties, the act of any director, officer, agent or 3 employee of a combined gas and electric corporation acting within the 4 scope of [his or her] their official duties or employment shall be 5 deemed to be the act of such corporation. 6 [11.] 8. It shall be a violation of this chapter should a director, 7 officer or employee of a public utility company, corporation, person 8 acting in [his or her] their official duties or employment, or an agent 9 acting on behalf of an employer take retaliatory personnel action such 10 as discharge, suspension, demotion, penalization or discrimination 11 against an employee for reporting a violation of a provision of this 12 chapter [of] or an order or regulation adopted under the authority of 13 this chapter, including, but not limited to, those governing safe and 14 adequate service, protection of human safety or prevention of signif- 15 icant damage to real property, including, but not limited to, the 16 commission's code of gas safety. Nothing in this subdivision shall be 17 deemed to diminish the rights, privileges or remedies of any employee 18 under any other law or regulation, including but not limited to article 19 twenty-C of the labor law and section seventy-five-b of the civil 20 service law, or under any collective bargaining agreement or employment 21 contract. 22 § 3. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 25-b to 23 read as follows: 24 § 25-b. Administrative actions against other regulated entities. 25 Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, section twenty- 26 five-a of this article shall apply in equal force to: 1. an electric 27 corporation as defined in subdivision thirteen of section two of this 28 article; 2. a gas corporation as defined in subdivision eleven of 29 section two of this article; 3. a cable television company or cable 30 television system as defined in subdivisions one and two of section two 31 hundred twelve of this article; 4. a telephone corporation as defined in 32 subdivision seventeen of section two of this article; 5. a steam corpo- 33 ration as defined in subdivision twenty-two of section two of this arti- 34 cle; and 6. a water-works corporation as defined in subdivision twenty- 35 seven of section two of this article; as well as the officers or 36 employees of any such corporate entities described above. 37 § 4. Subdivision 21 of section 66 of the public service law, as 38 amended by section 4 of part X of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, para- 39 graph (a) as separately amended by chapters 395 and 743 of the laws of 40 2022, subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) as separately amended by chap- 41 ters 395 and 743 of the laws of 2022 and chapter 38 of the laws of 2023, 42 subparagraph (xi) of paragraph (a) as separately amended by chapter 743 43 of the laws of 2022 and chapter 38 of the laws of 2024, subparagraphs 44 (xii), (xiii) and (xiv) of paragraph (a) as amended by chapter 38 of the 45 laws of 2024, is amended to read as follows: 46 21. (a) Each electric corporation subject to section twenty-five-a of 47 this chapter shall annually, on or before December fifteenth, submit to 48 the commission an emergency response plan for review and approval. The 49 emergency response plan shall be designed for the reasonably prompt 50 restoration of service in the case of an emergency event, defined for 51 purposes of this subdivision as an event where widespread outages have 52 occurred in the service territory of the company due to storms, cyber 53 attack, or other causes beyond the control of the company. The emergency 54 response plan shall include, but need not be limited to, the following: 55 (i) the identification of management staff responsible for company oper- 56 ations during an emergency; (ii) a communications plan that includes:S. 1701 8 1 (A) a system [with] that communicates service information to customers 2 during an emergency that extends beyond normal business hours and busi- 3 ness conditions; [(iii)] (B) identification of and outreach plans to 4 customers who had documented their need for essential electricity for 5 medical needs, which shall include but not be limited to, apnea monitors 6 for infants, cuirass respirators, hemodialysis machines, IV feeding 7 machines, IV medical infusion machines, oxygen concentrators, positive 8 pressure respirators, respirator/ventilators, rocking bed respirators, 9 suction machines, and tank type respirators; [(iv)] (C) identification 10 of and outreach plans to customers who had documented their need for 11 essential electricity to provide critical telecommunications, critical 12 transportation, critical fuel distribution services or other large-load 13 customers identified by the commission; [(v)] (D) designation of company 14 staff to communicate with local officials and appropriate regulatory 15 agencies; [(vi)] and (E) identifies, tests and verifies redundancies in 16 communications systems; (iii) provisions regarding how the company will 17 assure the safety of its employees and contractors; [(vii)] (iv) proce- 18 dures for deploying company and mutual aid crews to work assignment 19 areas; [(viii)] (v) identification of additional supplies and equipment 20 needed during an emergency; [(ix)] (vi) the means of obtaining addi- 21 tional supplies and equipment; [(x)] (vii) procedures to practice the 22 emergency response plan; [(xi)] (viii) appropriate safety precautions 23 regarding electrical hazards, including plans to promptly secure downed 24 wires within thirty-six hours of notification of the location of such 25 downed wires from a municipal emergency official; [(xii)] (ix) plans to 26 prioritize the securing of downed wires over routine maintenance or 27 other work unrelated to a response to an emergency event after notifica- 28 tion by an individual of the location of such downed wires and where 29 such notification includes information indicating wire burning, 30 arcing/sparking, or the restriction of ingress and egress from a build- 31 ing or vehicle, or other immediate hazards. Such plans shall, at mini- 32 mum, include procedures to identify, locate, and assess the reported 33 wire no later than seventy-two hours after the response to an emergency 34 event ends; [(xiii)] (x) plans setting forth how the communication and 35 coordination of efforts between the electric corporation, electric 36 corporation employees, electric corporation company crews, mutual aid 37 crews, other utilities, local governments and any other entity perform- 38 ing services to assist such electric corporation shall occur; and 39 [(xiv)] (xi) such other additional information as the commission may 40 require. Each such corporation shall, on an annual basis, undertake 41 drills implementing procedures to practice its emergency management 42 plan. The commission may adopt additional requirements consistent with 43 ensuring the reasonably prompt restoration of service in the case of an 44 emergency event. 45 (b) After review of a corporation's emergency response plan, the 46 commission may require such corporation to amend the plan. The commis- 47 sion may also open an investigation of the corporation's plan to deter- 48 mine its sufficiency to respond adequately to an emergency event. If, 49 after hearings, the commission finds a material deficiency in the plan, 50 it may order the company to make such modifications that it deems 51 reasonably necessary to remedy the deficiency. 52 (c) The commission is authorized to open an investigation to review 53 the performance of any corporation in restoring service, implementing 54 communications plans or otherwise meeting the requirements of the emer- 55 gency response plan during an emergency event. If, after evidentiary 56 hearings or other investigatory proceedings, the commission finds thatS. 1701 9 1 the corporation failed to [reasonably] implement its emergency response 2 plan or the length of such corporation's outages were materially longer 3 than they would have been, because of such corporation's failure to 4 [reasonably] implement its emergency response plan, the commission may 5 deny the recovery of any part of the service restoration costs caused by 6 such failure, commensurate with the degree and impact of the service 7 outage; provided, however, that nothing herein limits the commission's 8 authority to otherwise commence a proceeding pursuant to sections twen- 9 ty-four, twenty-five and twenty-five-a of this chapter. 10 (d) The commission shall certify to the department of homeland securi- 11 ty and emergency services that each such corporation's emergency 12 response plan is sufficient to ensure to the greatest extent feasible 13 the timely and safe restoration of energy services after an emergency in 14 compliance with the requirements of this chapter. 15 (e) The filing of each emergency response plan required under para- 16 graph (a) of this subdivision shall also include a copy of all written 17 mutual assistance agreements among utilities. 18 (f) Each electric corporation shall file with the county executive or 19 the chief elected official of a county for each county within its 20 service territory the most recent approved copy of the emergency 21 response plan required pursuant to this section. For the purposes of an 22 electric corporation operating within the city of New York, such corpo- 23 ration shall file the most recent approved emergency response plan with 24 the emergency management office of the city of New York. 25 (g) The commission shall provide access to such emergency response 26 plan pursuant to article six of the public officers law. 27 § 5. Section 94 of the public service law is amended by adding a new 28 subdivision 5 to read as follows: 29 5. (a) Each corporation subject to this article shall annually, on or 30 before December fifteenth, submit to the commission an emergency 31 response plan for review and approval. The emergency response plan shall 32 be designed for the reasonably prompt restoration of service in the case 33 of an emergency event, defined for purposes of this subdivision as an 34 event where widespread outages have occurred in the service territory of 35 the company due to storms or other causes beyond the control of the 36 company. The emergency response plan shall include, but need not be 37 limited to, the following: (i) the identification of management staff 38 responsible for company operations during an emergency; (ii) a communi- 39 cations plan that includes (A) a system that communicates service infor- 40 mation to customers during an emergency that extends beyond normal busi- 41 ness hours and business conditions; (B) designation of company staff to 42 communicate with local officials and appropriate regulatory agencies; 43 and (C) identifies, tests and verifies redundancies in communications 44 systems; (iii) provisions regarding how the company will ensure the 45 safety of its employees and contractors; (iv) procedures for deploying 46 personnel crews to work assignment areas; (v) identification of addi- 47 tional supplies and equipment needed during an emergency; (vi) the means 48 of obtaining additional supplies and equipment; (vii) procedures to 49 practice the emergency response plan; and (viii) such other additional 50 information as the commission may require. Each such corporation shall, 51 on an annual basis, undertake drills implementing procedures to practice 52 its emergency management plan. The commission may adopt additional 53 requirements consistent with ensuring the reasonably prompt restoration 54 of service in the case of an emergency event. 55 (b) After review of a corporation's emergency response plan, the 56 commission may require such corporation to amend the plan. The commis-S. 1701 10 1 sion may also open an investigation of the corporation's plan to deter- 2 mine its sufficiency to respond adequately to an emergency event. If, 3 after hearings, the commission finds a material deficiency in the plan, 4 it may order the company to make such modifications that it deems 5 reasonably necessary to remedy the deficiency. 6 (c) The commission is authorized to open an investigation to review 7 the performance of any corporation in restoring service, implementing 8 communications plans or otherwise meeting the requirements of the emer- 9 gency response plan during an emergency event. 10 (d) Each corporation subject to this article shall file with the coun- 11 ty executive or the chief elected official of a county for each county 12 within its service territory the most recent approved copy of the emer- 13 gency response plan required pursuant to this section. For the purposes 14 of a corporation operating within the city of New York, such corporation 15 shall file the most recent approved emergency response plan with the 16 emergency management office of the city of New York. 17 (e) The commission shall provide access to such emergency response 18 plan pursuant to article six of the public officers law. 19 § 6. Section 216 of the public service law is amended by adding a new 20 subdivision 4-a to read as follows: 21 4-a. (a) Each corporation subject to this article shall annually, on 22 or before December fifteenth, submit to the commission an emergency 23 response plan for review and approval. The emergency response plan shall 24 be designed for the reasonably prompt restoration of service in the case 25 of an emergency event, defined for purposes of this subdivision as an 26 event where widespread outages have occurred in the service territory of 27 the company due to storms or other causes beyond the control of the 28 company. The emergency response plan shall include, but need not be 29 limited to, the following: (i) the identification of management staff 30 responsible for company operations during an emergency; (ii) a communi- 31 cations plan which includes: (A) a system that communicates service 32 information to customers during an emergency that extends beyond normal 33 business hours and business conditions; (B) designation of company staff 34 to communicate with local officials and appropriate regulatory agencies; 35 and (C) identifies, tests and verifies redundancies in communications 36 systems; (iii) provisions regarding how the company will ensure the 37 safety of its employees and contractors; (iv) procedures for deploying 38 personnel crews to work assignment areas; (v) identification of addi- 39 tional supplies and equipment needed during an emergency; (vi) the means 40 of obtaining additional supplies and equipment; (vii) procedures to 41 practice the emergency response plan; and (viii) such other additional 42 information as the commission may require. Each such corporation shall, 43 on an annual basis, undertake drills implementing procedures to practice 44 its emergency management plan. The commission may adopt additional 45 requirements consistent with ensuring the reasonably prompt restoration 46 of service in the case of an emergency event. 47 (b) After review of a corporation's emergency response plan, the 48 commission may require such corporation to amend the plan. The commis- 49 sion may also open an investigation of the corporation's plan to deter- 50 mine its sufficiency to respond adequately to an emergency event. If, 51 after hearings, the commission finds a material deficiency in the plan, 52 it may order the company to make such modifications that it deems 53 reasonably necessary to remedy the deficiency. 54 (c) The commission is authorized to open an investigation to review 55 the performance of any corporation in restoring service, implementingS. 1701 11 1 communications plans or otherwise meeting the requirements of the emer- 2 gency response plan during an emergency event. 3 (d) Each corporation subject to this article shall file with the coun- 4 ty executive or the chief elected official of a county for each county 5 within its service territory the most recent approved copy of the emer- 6 gency response plan required pursuant to this section. For the purposes 7 of a corporation operating within the city of New York, such corporation 8 shall file the most recent approved emergency response plan with the 9 emergency management office of the city of New York. 10 (e) The commission shall provide access to such emergency response 11 plan pursuant to article six of the public officers law. 12 § 7. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part 13 of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to 14 be invalid and after exhaustion of all further judicial review, the 15 judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, 16 but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, para- 17 graph, section or part of this act directly involved in the controversy 18 in which the judgment shall have been rendered. 19 § 8. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 20 have become a law. Effective immediately, the department of public 21 service or the public service commission is authorized to promulgate any 22 regulations or orders necessary to implement this act.
