STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8932 IN SENATE August 21, 2020 ___________ Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules 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: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 21 of section 66 of the public 2 service law, as added by section 4 of part X of chapter 57 of the laws 3 of 2013, is amended to read as follows: 4 (a) Each electric corporation subject to section twenty-five-a of this 5 chapter shall annually, on or before December fifteenth, submit to the 6 commission an emergency response plan for review and approval. The emer- 7 gency response plan shall be designed for the reasonably prompt restora- 8 tion of service in the case of an emergency event, defined for purposes 9 of this subdivision as an event where widespread outages have occurred 10 in the service territory of the company due to storms or other causes 11 beyond the control of the company. Plans should include details of 12 staffing, equipment and ability to perform towards the following stand- 13 ard: the goal of full restoration of service to all customers within 14 forty-eight hours, the requirement of restoration to eighty percent of 15 customers having lost power within forty-eight hours, and efforts to 16 restore remaining customers to the greatest extent feasible in a timely 17 and safe manner. The emergency response plan shall include, but need not 18 be limited to, the following: (i) the identification of management staff 19 responsible for company operations during an emergency; (ii) a communi- 20 cations system with customers during an emergency that extends beyond 21 normal business hours and business conditions; (iii) identification of 22 and outreach plans to customers who had documented their need for essen- 23 tial electricity for medical needs; (iv) identification of and outreach 24 plans to customers who had documented their need for essential electric- 25 ity to provide critical telecommunications, critical transportation, 26 critical fuel distribution services or other large-load customers iden- 27 tified by the commission; (v) designation of company staff to communi- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01657-01-9S. 8932 2 1 cate with local officials and appropriate regulatory agencies; (vi) 2 provisions regarding how the company will assure the safety of its 3 employees and contractors; (vii) procedures for deploying company and 4 mutual aid crews to work assignment areas; (viii) identification of 5 additional supplies and equipment needed during an emergency; (ix) the 6 means of obtaining additional supplies and equipment; (x) procedures to 7 practice the emergency response plan; (xi) appropriate safety precau- 8 tions regarding electrical hazards, including plans to promptly secure 9 downed wires within thirty-six hours of notification of the location of 10 such downed wires from a municipal emergency official; and (xii) such 11 other additional information as the commission may require. Each such 12 corporation shall, on an annual basis, undertake drills implementing 13 procedures to practice its emergency management plan. The commission may 14 adopt additional requirements consistent with ensuring the reasonably 15 prompt restoration of service in the case of an emergency event. 16 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.