House Bill 145 | Effective: 6-20-25 |
House Author: King et al. | House Committee: State Affairs |
Senate Sponsor: Schwertner | Senate Committee: Business & Commerce |
House Bill 145 amends the Public Utility Regulatory Act, Utilities Code, to require an electric utility, municipally owned utility, or electric cooperative that owns a transmission or distribution facility in a wildfire risk area to file a wildfire mitigation plan to be approved, modified, or rejected by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC). The bill provides for an administrative penalty for the failure to implement such an approved plan and sets out provisions relating to the use of the plan as evidence in actions for damages caused by a wildfire ignited or propagated by a utility or cooperative facility, including an exemption from liability from those damages under certain conditions.
House Bill 145 includes wildfire losses that could not have been reasonably anticipated and included under an electric utility's operating and maintenance expenses among the specified types of potential liability or catastrophic property losses for which the utility may self-insure. Among other provisions, the bill provides for an electric utility's authority to self-insure all or part of certain potential damages for which the utility may be liable and expands the conditions under which the PUC must approve an otherwise qualifying self-insurance plan.