CHAPTER 38. REGULATION OF ELECTRIC SERVICES - Texas Statutes

UTILITIES CODE

TITLE 2. PUBLIC UTILITY REGULATORY ACT

SUBTITLE B. ELECTRIC UTILITIES

CHAPTER 38. REGULATION OF ELECTRIC SERVICES

SUBCHAPTER A. STANDARDS

Sec. 38.001. GENERAL STANDARD. An electric utility and an

electric cooperative shall furnish service, instrumentalities,

and facilities that are safe, adequate, efficient, and

reasonable.

Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 405, Sec. 34, eff. Sept. 1,

1999.

Sec. 38.002. AUTHORITY OF REGULATORY AUTHORITY CONCERNING

STANDARDS. A regulatory authority, on its own motion or on

complaint and after reasonable notice and hearing, may:

(1) adopt just and reasonable standards, classifications, rules,

or practices an electric utility must follow in furnishing a

service;

(2) adopt adequate and reasonable standards for measuring a

condition, including quantity, quality, pressure, and initial

voltage, relating to the furnishing of a service;

(3) adopt reasonable rules for examining, testing, and measuring

a service; and

(4) adopt or approve reasonable rules, specifications, and

standards to ensure the accuracy of equipment, including meters

and instruments, used to measure a service.

Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

Sec. 38.003. RULE OR STANDARD. (a) An electric utility may not

impose a rule except as provided by this title.

(b) An electric utility may file with the regulatory authority a

standard, classification, rule, or practice the utility follows.

(c) The standard, classification, rule, or practice continues in

force until:

(1) amended by the utility; or

(2) changed by the regulatory authority as provided by this

title.

Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

Sec. 38.004. MINIMUM CLEARANCE STANDARD. Notwithstanding any

other law, a transmission or distribution line owned by an

electric utility or an electric cooperative must be constructed,

operated, and maintained, as to clearances, in the manner

described by the National Electrical Safety Code Standard ANSI

(c)(2), as adopted by the American National Safety Institute and

in effect at the time of construction.

Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 405, Sec. 35, eff. Sept. 1,

1999.

Sec. 38.005. ELECTRIC SERVICE RELIABILITY MEASURES. (a) The

commission shall implement service quality and reliability

standards relating to the delivery of electricity to retail

customers by electric utilities and transmission and distribution

utilities. The commission by rule shall develop reliability

standards, including:

(1) the system-average interruption frequency index (SAIFI);

(2) the system-average interruption duration index (SAIDI);

(3) achievement of average response time for customer service

requests or inquiries; or

(4) other standards that the commission finds reasonable and

appropriate.

(b) The commission may take appropriate enforcement action under

this section, including action against a utility, if any of the

utility's feeders with 10 or more customers has had a SAIDI or

SAIFI average that is more than 300 percent greater than the

system average of all feeders during any two-year period,

beginning in the year 2000. In determining the appropriate

enforcement action, the commission shall consider:

(1) the feeder's operating and maintenance history;

(2) the cause of each interruption in the feeder's service;

(3) any action taken by a utility to address the feeder's

performance;

(4) the estimated cost and benefit of remediating a feeder's

performance; and

(5) any other relevant factor as determined by the commission.

(c) The standards implemented under Subsection (a) shall require

each electric utility and transmission and distribution utility

subject to this section to maintain adequately trained and

experienced personnel throughout the utility's service area so

that the utility is able to fully and adequately comply with the

appropriate service quality and reliability standards.

(d) The standards shall ensure that electric utilities do not

neglect any local neighborhood or geographic area, including

rural areas, communities of less than 1,000 persons, and

low-income areas, with regard to system reliability.

(e) The commission may require each electric utility and

transmission and distribution utility to supply data to assist

the commission in developing the reliability standards.

(f) Each electric utility, transmission and distribution

utility, electric cooperative, municipally owned utility, and

generation provider shall be obligated to comply with any

operational criteria duly established by the independent

organization as defined by Section 39.151 or adopted by the

commission.

Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 405, Sec. 36, eff. Sept. 1,

1999.

Amended by:

Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.

424, Sec. 1, eff. June 19, 2009.

SUBCHAPTER B. PROHIBITIONS ON PREFERENCES AND DISCRIMINATION

Sec. 38.021. UNREASONABLE PREFERENCE OR PREJUDICE CONCERNING

SERVICE PROHIBITED. In providing a service to persons in a

classification, an electric utility may not:

(1) grant an unreasonable preference or advantage to a person in

the classification; or

(2) subject a person in the classification to an unreasonable

prejudice or disadvantage.

Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

Sec. 38.022. DISCRIMINATION AND RESTRICTION ON COMPETITION. An

electric utility may not:

(1) discriminate against a person or electric cooperative who

sells or leases equipment or performs services in competition

with the electric utility; or

(2) engage in a practice that tends to restrict or impair that

competition.

Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 405, Sec. 37, eff. Sept. 1,

1999.

SUBCHAPTER C. EXAMINATIONS, TESTS, AND INSPECTIONS

Sec. 38.051. EXAMINATION AND TEST OF INSTRUMENT OR EQUIPMENT;

INSPECTION. (a) A regulatory authority may:

(1) examine and test equipment, including meters and

instruments, used to measure service of an electric utility; and

(2) set up and use on the premises occupied by an electric

utility an apparatus or appliance necessary for the examination

or test.

(b) The electric utility is entitled to be represented at an

examination, test, or inspection made under this section.

(c) The electric utility and its officers and employees shall

facilitate the examination, test, or inspection by giving

reasonable aid to the regulatory authority and to any person

designated by the regulatory authority for the performance of

those duties.

Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

Sec. 38.052. INSPECTION FOR CONSUMER. (a) A consumer may have

a meter or other measuring device tested by an electric utility:

(1) once without charge, after a reasonable period of presumed

accuracy the regulatory authority establishes by rule; and

(2) at a shorter interval on payment of a reasonable fee

established by the regulatory authority.

(b) The regulatory authority shall establish reasonable fees to

be paid for other examining or testing of a measuring device on

the request of a consumer.

(c) If the consumer requests the test under Subsection (a)(2)

and the measuring device is found unreasonably defective or

incorrect to the substantial disadvantage of the consumer, the

fee the consumer paid at the time of the request shall be

refunded.

Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

SUBCHAPTER D. IMPROVEMENTS IN SERVICE

Sec. 38.071. IMPROVEMENTS IN SERVICE; INTERCONNECTING SERVICE.

The commission, after notice and hearing, may:

(1) order an electric utility to provide specified improvements

in its service in a specified area if:

(A) service in the area is inadequate or substantially inferior

to service in a comparable area; and

(B) requiring the company to provide the improved service is

reasonable; or

(2) order two or more electric utilities or electric

cooperatives to establish specified facilities for

interconnecting service.

Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 166, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 405, Sec. 38, eff. Sept. 1,

1999.

Sec. 38.073. AUTHORITY OF COMMISSION DURING AN EMERGENCY. (a)

On a declaration of a natural disaster or other emergency by the

governor, the commission may require an electric utility,

municipally owned utility, electric cooperative, qualifying

facility, power generation company, exempt wholesale generator,

or power marketer to sell electricity to an electric utility,

municipally owned utility, or electric cooperative that is unable

to supply power to meet customer demand due to the natural

disaster or other emergency. Any plant, property, equipment, or

other items used to receive or deliver electricity under this

subsection are used and useful in delivering service to the

public, and the commission shall allow timely recovery for the

costs of those items. The commission may order an electric

utility, municipally owned utility, or electric cooperative to

provide interconnection service to another electric utility,

municipally owned utility, or electric cooperative to facilitate

a sale of electricity under this section. If the commission does

not order the sale of electricity during a declared emergency as

described by this subsection, the commission shall promptly

submit to the legislature a report describing the reasons why the

commission did not make that order.

(b) If an entity receives electricity under Subsection (a), the

receiving entity shall reimburse the supplying entity for the

actual cost of providing the electricity. The entity receiving

the electricity is responsible for any transmission and

distribution service charges specifically incurred in relation to

providing the electricity.

(c) An entity that pays for electricity received under

Subsection (b) and that is regulated by the commission may fully

recover the cost of the electricity in a timely manner by:

(1) including the cost in the entity's fuel cost under Section

36.203; or

(2) notwithstanding Section 36.201, imposing a different

surcharge.

Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.

1280, Sec. 2.02, eff. September 1, 2009.

SUBCHAPTER E. INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT AND MAINTENANCE REPORT

Sec. 38.101. REPORT ON INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT AND

MAINTENANCE. (a) Not later than May 1 of each year, each

electric utility shall submit to the commission a report

describing the utility's activities related to:

(1) identifying areas that are susceptible to damage during

severe weather and hardening transmission and distribution

facilities in those areas;

(2) vegetation management; and

(3) inspecting distribution poles.

(b) Each electric utility shall include in a report required

under Subsection (a) a summary of the utility's activities

related to preparing for emergency operations.

Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.

1280, Sec. 2.03, eff. September 1, 2009.