Bill Text: TX HB3824 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to fire safety standards and emergency operations plans for the operation of battery energy storage.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-03-05 - Filed [HB3824 Detail]
Download: Texas-2025-HB3824-Introduced.html
| 89R13791 SCR-F | ||
| By: King | H.B. No. 3824 | |
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| relating to fire safety standards and emergency operations plans | ||
| for the operation of battery energy storage. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 4, Utilities Code, is amended | ||
| by adding Chapter 187 to read as follows: | ||
| CHAPTER 187. BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE FIRE SAFETY | ||
| Sec. 187.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: | ||
| (1) "Battery energy storage" means a battery energy | ||
| storage facility or battery energy storage equipment considered to | ||
| be a generation asset under Section 35.152(a) and operated inside | ||
| or outside the ERCOT power region. | ||
| (2) "Battery operator" means an electric cooperative, | ||
| an electric utility, or a power generation company that owns or | ||
| operates battery energy storage. | ||
| (3) "Electric cooperative" and "municipally owned | ||
| utility" have the meanings assigned by Section 11.003. | ||
| (4) "Electric utility" and "power generation company" | ||
| have the meanings assigned by Section 31.002. | ||
| Sec. 187.002. FIRE SAFETY STANDARDS FOR BATTERY ENERGY | ||
| STORAGE. (a) The state fire marshal shall adopt and periodically | ||
| update fire safety standards and testing requirements for battery | ||
| energy storage. The standards and requirements must be based on: | ||
| (1) model code requirements for battery energy storage | ||
| equipment or facilities established by UL Solutions, such as UL | ||
| 9540A performance criteria; and | ||
| (2) minimum standards related to the design, safety, | ||
| and installation of stationary energy storage systems established | ||
| by the National Fire Protection Association, such as NFPA 855. | ||
| (b) Each battery operator or municipally owned utility that | ||
| owns or operates battery energy storage shall ensure that the | ||
| storage meets the fire safety standards and testing requirements | ||
| adopted by the state fire marshal under Subsection (a) at the time | ||
| of interconnection. | ||
| (c) Unless expressly authorized by another statute, a | ||
| municipality or county may not adopt, enforce, or maintain an | ||
| ordinance, order, or rule regulating conduct in a field of | ||
| regulation that is inconsistent with the fire safety standards and | ||
| testing requirements adopted by the state fire marshal. An | ||
| ordinance, order, or rule that violates this subsection is void and | ||
| unenforceable. | ||
| (d) On request by a municipality in which battery energy | ||
| storage is located, or a county in which battery energy storage is | ||
| located if the storage is in an unincorporated area, a battery | ||
| operator that owns or operates the battery energy storage shall, at | ||
| the battery operator's expense, contract with an independent, | ||
| third-party engineer licensed in this state or other consultant | ||
| with appropriate expertise to: | ||
| (1) evaluate the design, safety, and installation of | ||
| the battery energy storage before the start of commercial | ||
| operations to ensure compliance with the requirements of this | ||
| section; | ||
| (2) produce a written report that: | ||
| (A) includes the evaluation; | ||
| (B) identifies any noted deficiencies in | ||
| compliance with the standards adopted by the state fire marshal; | ||
| and | ||
| (C) recommends appropriate actions to correct | ||
| deficiencies; and | ||
| (3) provide the written report described by | ||
| Subdivision (2) to the requesting municipality or county. | ||
| (e) The battery operator must make available to the engineer | ||
| or consultant and the requesting municipality or county the | ||
| following documents if held or created by the battery operator: | ||
| (1) documents relating to the site layout; | ||
| (2) the emergency operations plan described by Section | ||
| 187.003; | ||
| (3) a hazard mitigation analysis for the battery | ||
| energy storage; | ||
| (4) any manufacturer specifications for the battery | ||
| energy storage; | ||
| (5) a UL 9540A report and any UL listings and | ||
| associated documentation for the battery energy storage; | ||
| (6) National Fire Protection Association standards, | ||
| including any associated documentation, for the battery energy | ||
| storage; | ||
| (7) electrical drawings for the battery energy | ||
| storage; | ||
| (8) monitoring procedures for the battery energy | ||
| storage; | ||
| (9) alarm activation criteria for the battery energy | ||
| storage; and | ||
| (10) fire protection system documentation for the | ||
| battery energy storage. | ||
| (f) At least once every three years, each battery operator | ||
| shall contract, at the battery operator's expense, with an | ||
| independent, third-party engineer licensed in this state or other | ||
| consultant with appropriate expertise to produce a fire safety | ||
| inspection report for the battery operator's battery energy storage | ||
| and provide the report to the municipality in which the storage is | ||
| located or to the county in which the storage is located if the | ||
| facility or equipment is in an unincorporated area. The report | ||
| must: | ||
| (1) include an evaluation of: | ||
| (A) the structural integrity and weatherproofing | ||
| of any enclosure at the site of the storage; | ||
| (B) the maintenance schedule and any associated | ||
| documentation for the storage; | ||
| (C) the emergency operations plan described by | ||
| Section 187.003; | ||
| (D) any hazard mitigation analysis for the | ||
| storage; | ||
| (E) any monitoring procedures and monitoring | ||
| history for the storage; | ||
| (F) fire protection system inspection and | ||
| testing records for the storage; and | ||
| (G) the ventilation systems of the storage; and | ||
| (2) identify any noted deficiencies and recommend | ||
| appropriate actions to correct deficiencies. | ||
| Sec. 187.003. EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLANS FOR BATTERY ENERGY | ||
| STORAGE. (a) In this section, "first responder" has the meaning | ||
| assigned by Section 78B.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code. | ||
| (b) This section applies only to a battery operator or a | ||
| municipally owned utility that owns or operates battery energy | ||
| storage, whether standalone or colocated with another generation | ||
| asset. | ||
| (c) A battery operator or a municipally owned utility to | ||
| which this section applies shall produce a site-specific emergency | ||
| operations plan for each battery energy storage site owned or | ||
| operated by the battery operator or utility. The site-specific | ||
| emergency operations plan must include: | ||
| (1) an identification of potential risks and hazards | ||
| specific to the site; | ||
| (2) a hazard mitigation analysis; | ||
| (3) procedures for the safe shutdown, de-energizing, | ||
| or isolation of equipment and systems under emergency conditions, | ||
| including emergency procedures to be followed in case of fire; | ||
| (4) procedures for handling equipment damaged in a | ||
| fire or other emergency event; | ||
| (5) procedures and schedules for conducting drills | ||
| using the procedures listed under this subsection and documentation | ||
| related to the performance of the drills; | ||
| (6) procedures for communication between the operator | ||
| of the storage and first responders, including procedures that | ||
| facilitate communication between first responders and emergency | ||
| contacts designated by the operator of the storage; and | ||
| (7) emergency operations protocols to ensure safety | ||
| during critical events, including protocols that provide for the | ||
| safety of: | ||
| (A) nearby residents; | ||
| (B) neighboring properties; | ||
| (C) first responders; and | ||
| (D) the environment, including measures to | ||
| mitigate or prevent pollution of air, soil, groundwater, or surface | ||
| water. | ||
| (d) The battery operator or municipally owned utility | ||
| shall: | ||
| (1) before starting commercial operations, provide | ||
| the site-specific emergency operations plan developed under | ||
| Subsection (c) to the local first responder that is responsible for | ||
| providing fire protection services in the area in which the battery | ||
| energy storage is located; and | ||
| (2) maintain materials safety data sheets or | ||
| comparable documents and the site-specific emergency operations | ||
| plan developed under Subsection (c) at an on-site location | ||
| accessible to personnel responsible for the operations and | ||
| maintenance of the battery energy storage and first responders. | ||
| (e) The battery operator or municipally owned utility shall | ||
| offer to local first responders, at no cost to the responders, | ||
| education and annual training regarding responding to an equipment | ||
| failure incident at the battery energy storage site, including: | ||
| (1) training on specific characteristics of battery | ||
| energy storage technology; | ||
| (2) training on protecting first responders during | ||
| incident response; | ||
| (3) training on hazards commonly associated with | ||
| incident response; | ||
| (4) training on incident response protocols, | ||
| including an overview of the site-specific emergency operations | ||
| plan developed under Subsection (c); and | ||
| (5) an on-site review of the perimeter, major | ||
| equipment, and ingress and egress to the battery energy storage | ||
| site. | ||
| SECTION 2. Sections 187.002 and 187.003, Utilities Code, as | ||
| added by this Act, apply only to battery energy storage facilities | ||
| or equipment for which interconnection is approved by the | ||
| independent system operator of jurisdiction on or after January 1, | ||
| 2027. | ||
| SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. | ||
