By: Gutierrez S.B. No. 817

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the winterization and emergency preparedness for electric utilities, power generation companies, municipally owned utilities, and electric cooperatives.

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

SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 4, Utilities Code, is amended by adding section 186.001A to read as follows:

Sec. 186.001A. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT. The legislature finds that the state has failed to protect Texas families in its regulation and management of the electric grid. This failure has caused mass suffering, death, and exploitative energy pricing during a catastrophic emergency. The legislature further finds that the extreme weather events of February 2021 were foreseeable and will occur with greater frequency in the future. It is the intent of the legislature to prevent the collapse of the electric grid caused by extreme weather events and the exploitation of energy consumers during a statewide emergency.

SECTION 2. Subtitle B, Title 4, Utilities Code, is amended by adding section 186.008 to read as follows

Sec. 186.008. WEATHER EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS. (a) In this section, "commission" means the Public Utility Commission of Texas.

(a-1) The commission shall require electric utilities as defined by Section 31.002, power generation companies, municipally owned utilities, and electric cooperatives that operate generation facilities in this state to:

(1) prepare for extreme weather events to ensure reliable operation, meaning operating the elements of the power system within equipment and electric system thermal, voltage and stability limits, so that instability, uncontrolled separation or cascading will not occur as a result of a sudden disturbance, including a cybersecurity incident or unanticipated failure of system elements;

(2) obtain or perform a comprehensive engineering analysis to identify potential freezing problems or other cold weather operational issues. The analysis should identify:

(i) the lowest ambient temperatures at which the unit can reliably operate; and

(ii) components or systems that have the potential to initiate an automatic unit trip, prevent successful unit start-up, initiate automatic unit runback schemes or cause partial outages, adversely affect environmental controls that could cause full or partial outages, adversely affect the delivery of fuel to the units, or cause other operational problems such as slowed valve or damper operation;

(3) ensure that its heat tracing, insulation, lagging and wind breaks are designed to maintain water temperature (in those lines with standing water) at or above 40 degrees when ambient temperature, taking into account the accelerated heat loss due to wind, falls below freezing;

(4) determine the duration that a power system can maintain water, air, or fluid systems above freezing when offline, and have contingency plans for periods of freezing temperatures exceeding this duration;

(5) establish policies that make winter preparation a priority each fall, establish personnel accountability and audit procedures, and reinforce the policies annually;

(6) develop a winter preventive maintenance program for its freeze protection elements, which should specify inspection and testing intervals both before and during the winter. At the end of winter, an additional round of inspections and testing should be performed and an evaluation made of freeze protection performance, in order to identify potential improvements, required maintenance, and freeze protection component replacement for the following winter season;

(7) prioritize repairs identified by the inspection and testing the proper functioning of freeze protection systems will be completed before the following winter;

(8) perform an assessment for each generating unit to determine the proper placement of temporary or permanent wind breaks or enclosures to protect and prevent freezing of critical and vulnerable elements during extreme weather, including in enclosed or semi-enclosed spaces. Temporary wind breaks should be designed to withstand high winds, and should be fabricated and installed before extreme weather begins;

(9) install thermometers in rooms containing equipment sensitive to cold and in freeze protection enclosures to ensure that temperature is being maintained above freezing and to determine the need for additional heaters or other freeze protection; and

(10) fulfill any other standard adopted by the commission by rule concerning extreme weather preparedness.

(b) Before each winter begins and before a forecast freezing weather, electric utilities as defined by Section 31.002, power generation companies, municipally owned utilities, and electric cooperatives that operate generation facilities in this state shall inspect, test, or maintain:

(1) the power supply to all heat trace circuits, including all breakers and fuses;

(2) the continuity of all heat trace circuits, check the integrity of all connections in the heat trace circuits, and ensure that all insulation on heat traces is intact. This inspection should include checking for loose connections, broken wires, corrosion, and other damage to the integrity of electrical insulation which could cause grounds;

(3) all heat trace controls or monitoring devices for proper operation, including but not limited to thermostats, local and remote alarms, lights, and monitoring cabinet heaters;

(4) the amperage and voltage for its heat tracing circuits and calculate whether the circuits are producing the output specified in the design criteria, and maintain or repair the circuits as needed;

(5) all accessible thermal insulation and verify that there are no cuts, tears, or holes in the insulation, or evidence of degradation; and

(6) the valves and connections are insulated to the same temperature specifications as the piping connected to it.

(c) Electric utilities as defined by Section 31.002, power generation companies, municipally owned utilities, and electric cooperatives that operate generation facilities in this state shall train their personnel annually to increase awareness of the capabilities and limitations of the freeze protection monitoring system, proper methods to check insulation integrity and the reliability and output of heat tracing, and prioritization of repair orders when problems are discovered.

(d) During an extreme weather event that endangers reliable operation of the power system, electric utilities as defined by Section 31.002, power generation companies, municipally owned utilities, and electric cooperatives that operate generation facilities in this state shall:

(1) schedule additional personnel for around-the-clock coverage of the power system; and

(2) drain any non-critical service water lines in anticipation of severe cold weather.

(e) A violation of this subchapter that interrupts the delivery of water, electric, or gas utility service in this state is punishable by a fine not to exceed $100,000 for each day the system remains in violation.

(f) The commission shall exercise all power available under the constitution and laws of this state to protect the public from dangers incident to an interruption in water, electric, or gas utility service in this state that occurs because of a violation of this subchapter.

(g) The commission shall adopt rules necessary to implement this section.

SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2021.