Texas Administrative Code › Title 16 - ECONOMIC REGULATION › Part 2 - PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS › Chapter 25 - SUBSTANTIVE RULES APPLICABLE TO ELECTRIC SERVICE PROVIDERS › Subchapter D - RECORDS, REPORTS, AND OTHER REQUIRED INFORMATION › Section 25.95 - Electric Utility Infrastructure Storm Hardening

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) Purpose. This section is intended to
				  ensure that each electric utility has developed a Storm Hardening Plan that
				  provides for the implementation of cost-effective strategies to increase the
				  ability of its transmission and distribution facilities to withstand extreme
				  weather conditions.
(b)
				  Application. This section applies to all electric utilities.
(c) Definition. The following term when used
				  in this section shall have the following meaning, unless the context indicates
				  otherwise. Storm hardening--All activities related to improved resiliency and
				  restoration times, including but not limited to emergency planning,
				  construction standards, vegetation management, or other actions before, during,
				  or after extreme weather events.
(d) Storm Hardening Plan Summary. By May 1,
				  2011, a utility shall file with the commission a summary of its Storm Hardening
				  Plan. The summary shall describe in detail the utility's current and future
				  storm hardening plans over a five-year period beginning January 1, 2011. By May
				  1 of each subsequent year, the utility shall file a detailed summary of any
				  material revisions to the Plan and a detailed summary of its progress in
				  implementing the Plan. A full copy of the Plan shall be provided to the
				  commission or commission staff upon request.
(e) Updating and contents of Storm Hardening
				  Plan. A utility's Storm Hardening Plan shall be updated at least every five
				  years and shall include, at a minimum, the utility's:
(1) Construction standards, policies,
				  procedures, and practices employed to enhance the reliability of utility
				  systems, including overhead and underground transmission and distribution
				  facilities;
(2) Vegetation
				  Management Plan for distribution facilities, including a tree pruning
				  methodology and pruning cycle, hazard tree identification and mitigation plans,
				  and customer education and notification practices related to vegetation
				  management;
(3) Plans and
				  procedures to consider infrastructure improvements for its distribution system
				  based on smart grid concepts that provide enhanced outage resilience, faster
				  outage restoration, and/or grid self-healing;
(4) Plans and procedures to enhance post
				  storm damage assessment, including enhanced data collection methods for damaged
				  poles and fallen trees;
(5)
				  Transmission and distribution pole construction standards, pole attachment
				  policies, and pole testing schedule;
(6) Distribution feeder inspection
				  schedule;
(7) Plans and procedures
				  to enhance the reliability of overhead and underground transmission and
				  distribution facilities through the use of transmission and distribution
				  automation;
(8) Plans and
				  procedures to comply with the most recent National Electric Safety Code (NESC)
				  wind loading standards in hurricane prone areas for new construction and
				  rebuilds of the transmission and distribution system;
(9) Plans and procedures to review new
				  construction and rebuilds to the distribution system to determine whether they
				  should be built to NESC Grade B (or equivalent) standards;
(10) Plans and procedures to develop a
				  damage/outage prediction model for the transmission and distribution
				  system;
(11) Plans and procedures
				  for use of structures owned by other entities in the provision of distribution
				  service, such as poles owned by telecommunications utilities; and
(12) Plans and procedures for restoration of
				  service to priority loads and for consideration of targeted storm hardening of
				  infrastructure used to serve priority loads.