BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 1093

By: Schwertner

State Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The 87th Texas Legislature, through the passage of S.B. 3, mandated the creation of an electricity supply chain map by the Texas Electricity Supply Chain Security and Mapping Committee. This important tool has created better coordinated preparedness and faster response time during weather emergencies. The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) has identified several additions that should be added to statute to bolster the map.

Currently, water facilities are not included in the map. Water is a key component to the production of electricity in Texas. In emergency situations, location transparency for all critical infrastructure is essential. To provide decision makers with the information needed to coordinate between electric, gas, and water industries, water facilities should be added to the map. Additionally, during Winter Storm Uri road crews were unable to reach critical infrastructure facilities due to inclement weather and there was no visibility into which roads were inaccessible. To ensure road crews have pertinent information needed during disasters or weather emergencies, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) should be added to the mapping committee and have access to the map. To verify the accuracy of information for critical natural gas facilities needed to serve black start generating units, transmission and distribution service providers (TDSPs) need access to the map. A black start unit is one that can start its own power without support from the grid in the event of a collapse or blackout. The PUC recommends that each TDSP be allowed access to its specific portion of the map to prioritize service to critical natural gas facilities needed to serve black start generating units in times of emergencies.

S.B. 1093 seeks to add water facilities to the map, add TxDOT to the mapping committee and give them access to the map, and allow TDSPs access to their specific portion of the map.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

S.B. 1093 amends the Utilities Code to require each electric utility, transmission and distribution utility, electric cooperative, and municipally owned utility to provide the utility's service area boundary map, using good faith efforts, in either a geodatabase feature class or shapefile format to the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC). The bill requires the PUC to mandate compliance with this requirement not later than September 30, 2023.

S.B. 1093 does the following with respect to the Texas Electricity Supply Chain Security and Mapping Committee:

· classifies roads necessary to access facilities in the electricity supply chain as part of that supply chain;

· establishes that a reference in state law governing the committee to the "electricity supply chain" includes water and wastewater treatment plants;

· includes the executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) as a member of the committee; and

· includes TxDOT among the agencies required to provide staff as necessary to assist the committee in carrying out its duties and responsibilities.

S.B. 1093 revises the committee's duty to establish best practices to prepare facilities in the electricity supply chain to maintain service in an extreme weather event by removing the specification that those facilities are facilities that provide electric service and natural gas service.

S.B. 1093 requires the committee to provide, on request, view-only access to the electricity supply chain map to the following entities:

· an electric utility, a transmission and distribution utility, an electric cooperative, or a municipally owned utility;

· an operator of a gas supply chain facility; or

· an operator of a gas pipeline facility.

The bill conditions access to the map by a utility or electric cooperative on that entity complying with the requirement to provide certain maps to the PUC and limits the entity's access to the critical natural gas facilities on the map that are located in the requesting entity's service area. The bill limits a facility operator's access to the map to the critical natural gas facilities operated by the requesting operator.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2023.