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D.C. Municipal Regulations (Last Updated: September 13, 2017) |
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Title 15. PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CABLE TELEVISION |
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Chapter 15-37. NATURAL GAS QUALITY OF SERVICE STANDARDS |
Section 15-3701. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR SERVICE OUTAGES AND GAS INCIDENTS
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3701.1 The natural gas utility shall report to the Commission and the Office of the People’s Counsel (OPC) of the District of Columbia all major and non-major natural gas service outages, as well as incidents that result in the loss of human life, personal injury requiring hospitalization, property damage of over $5,000, or service disruption directly or indirectly arising from or connected with the gas utility’s maintenance or operation, that occur on the natural gas system within the District of Columbia. Additionally, the natural gas utility must include in its operating, maintenance procedures, and emergency plan that it will utilize industry standard testing procedures, such as conducting metallurgical or laboratory analysis of failed components, to identify the root causes of natural gas service outages and to minimize the possibility of recurrence.
3701.2 The natural gas utility shall report major service outages by telephone and e-mail to the Commission’s Office of Engineering (OE) and OPC, at the earliest practicable time, but not later than one (1) hour after the utility’s dispatch has been informed of a major service outage, with as much detailed information as possible. To the extent all information required by Section 3701.3 is not available at the time of the initial communication, the natural gas utility shall within two (2) hours of the dispatch supplement its initial report with the additional information. This reporting requirement applies to business and non-business hours.
3701.3 Each telephone and e-mail report rendered by the natural gas utility subsequent to a major service outage shall state clearly, at a minimum, the following information:
(a) The location(s) of the service outage(s), including street addresses;
(b) The ward(s) and/or quadrant(s) where the service outage(s) occurred;
(c) The estimated number of customers out of service, if known;
(d) A preliminary assessment as to the cause(s) of the service outage(s), if known; and
(e) The estimated repair and/or restoration time, if known.
3701.4 During the course of each major service outage, the utility shall report periodically to OE and OPC regarding the status of the service outage and the utility’s progress in restoration efforts. The frequency of such periodic updates to OE shall be jointly determined by the utility and OE at the start of the service outage and/or as modified during the course of the service outage. The utility shall provide an update to OE and OPC prior to making any changes to its estimated restoration time.
3701.5 Estimated restoration information, if available, shall be provided to District of Columbia customers by the utility’s customer service representatives and by the utility’s automated voice response unit.
3701.6The natural gas utility shall file a written report concerning all major service outages with the Office of the Commission Secretary (OCMS) and to OPC within three (3) weeks following the end of a major service outage.
3701.7 Each written report concerning a major service outage shall state clearly, at a minimum, the following information:
(a) The dates and times when the major service outage began and ended;
(b) The time the natural gas utility received the first call regarding the outage(s) or became aware of the outage(s);
(c) The dates and times when the restoration effort began and ended;
(d) The date and time when the maximum number of customers were experiencing a sustained interruption and the total number of customers affected at that time (both on a system-wide basis and for the District of Columbia only);
(e) The total number of customers that experienced a sustained interruption given in one hour intervals throughout the major service outage (both on a system-wide basis and for the District of Columbia only);
(f) The total number of customer interruption durations (converted into hours) during the major service outage (both on a system-wide basis and for the District of Columbia only);
(g) Any information concerning requests made for outside assistance, including the organization(s) to which such requests were made, the date and time of the requests, and the resources requested;
(h) Any information concerning outside assistance received, including the organization(s) that provided personnel, the date(s) and time(s) of personnel arrivals and departures, all crew personnel certified with operator qualification status by type of work that can be assigned and performed, the number of and types of vehicles provided, the total number of personnel received, the total number of personnel assigned to transmission lines restoration service crews, the total number of personnel assigned to distribution system restoration crews, the total number of personnel assigned to rights of way clearing crews, the total number of personnel assigned to pressure regulation and measurement crews, the total number of personnel assigned to drip pumping crews, and the total number of personnel assigned to service utilization crews;
(i) Any information concerning the utility’s own personnel and resources used in restoration efforts, including the total number and types of vehicles used, the total number of utility personnel involved in the restoration effort, the number of personnel assigned to transmission lines restoration service crews, the total number of personnel assigned to distribution system restoration crews, the total number of personnel assigned to damage assessment crews, the total number of personnel assigned to rights of way clearing crews, the total number of personnel assigned to pressure regulation and measurement crews, the total number of personnel assigned to drip pumping crews, and the total number of personnel assigned to service utilization crews;
(j) Any system-wide information concerning customer communications, including the hourly call volumes (specifically identifying the total number of customer calls received and the total number of calls answered by the utility during each hour of the service outage), the hourly staffing numbers (specifically identifying the total number of customer service representatives logged into the call center and supporting phone systems actively taking or waiting to take customer calls), and the telephone service factor provided on an hourly basis during the entire duration of the service outage (specifically identifying the percentage of answered calls that were answered within a 30-second timeframe);
(k) The total number of customers interrupted and the customer interruption durations (converted into hours) caused by each of the following: water in the main, poor pressure, over and under pressure conditions, frozen meters, pressure regulator malfunctions, lightning damage, ice or snow near pressure regulator vents, and any other major causes (both on a system-wide basis and for the District of Columbia only);
(l) The total number of each of the following occurring as part of the emergency restoration efforts: the footage of main replaced, number of regulators and meters replaced, the number of transmission and distribution regulator station equipment replaced, relief valve replacements, service piping replacements, the number of mechanical couplings replaced, additional excess flow valves installed on services and other appurtenances or issued for replacement (both on a system-wide basis and for the District of Columbia only);
(m) Any issues concerning the availability of materials that affected restoration progress and a description of the emergency measures taken to resolve such issues;
(n) A self-assessment of the utility’s restoration efforts in the District of Columbia;
(o) The total number of customers, and percent of all customers, restored, given in one-hour intervals throughout the major service outage restoration effort (both on a system-wide basis and for the District of Columbia only); and
(p) An analysis, based upon the availability of the data and all other surrounding circumstances, of the utility’s performance in its current restoration efforts as compared to its past restoration efforts, taking into account all relevant factors, such as the severity of the current major service outage in terms of the percent of customers affected on a system-wide or local basis.
3701.8 The utility shall report non-major service outages by telephone and e-mail to OE and OPC at the earliest practicable time, but not later than one (1) hour after the utility’s dispatch has been informed of a non-major service outage, with as much detailed information as possible. To the extent all information required by Section 3701.10 is not available at the time of the initial communication, the natural gas utility shall within two (2) hours of the dispatch supplement its initial report with the additional information. This reporting requirement applies to business and non-business hours.
3701.9 Notwithstanding the above:
(a) The natural gas utility shall report a single customer service outage of more than eight (8) hours only upon verification that the service outage was caused by some event on the utility’s side of the customer’s meter;
(b) No report need be filed if the single customer service outage was caused by some event on the customer’s side of the meter; and
(c) No report need be filed if the outage is the result of planned maintenance activities, provided that the customer was informed prior to the implementation of the maintenance activities.
3701.10 Each telephone and e-mail report concerning a non-major service outage shall state clearly, at a minimum, the following information:
(a) The location(s) of the service outage(s), including street addresses;
(b) The ward(s) and/or quadrant(s) where the service outage(s) occurred;
(c) The estimated number of customers out of service, if known;
(d) A preliminary assessment as to the cause(s) of the service outage(s), if known; and
(e) The estimated repair and/or restoration time, if known.
The natural gas utility shall provide regular updates, to OE and OPC, to the initial report as it receives more information.
3701.11 Written reports concerning all non-major service outages shall be submitted by the natural gas utility to OE and OPC within ten (10) days from the date of repair/restoration completion or within three (3) weeks of the event occurrence, whichever comes first.
3701.12Each written report concerning non-major service outages shall state clearly, at a minimum, the following information as applicable to the given incident:
(a) A description of the service outage(s) and information as to the cause of the outage(s);
(b) The location(s) of the service outage(s), including street addresses;
(c) The ward(s) and/or quadrant(s) where the service outage(s) occurred;
(d) The time the natural gas utility received the first call regarding the outage(s) or became aware of the outage(s);
(e) The actual repair and restoration times of the service outage(s);
(f) The duration of the service outage(s) rounded to the nearest hour and half-hour;
(g) The estimated number of customers affected by the service outage(s); and
(h) The steps taken to minimize and/or control the service outage(s).
3701.13 The natural gas utility shall report by telephone and e-mail all incidents that result in the loss of human life and/or personal injury requiring hospitalization, and/or property damage of $5,000 or more directly or indirectly arising from or connected with the natural gas utility’s maintenance or operation, to OE and OPC at the earliest practicable time, but not later than thirty (30) minutes after the utility’s dispatch has been informed of the incident, with as much detailed information as possible. To the extent all information required by Section 3701.14 is not available at the time of the initial communication, the natural gas utility shall within two (2) hours of the dispatch supplement its initial report with the additional information. The natural gas utility shall continue providing updates to the Commission and OPC on all incidents as information becomes available. This reporting requirement applies to business and non-business hours.
3701.14 Each telephone and e-mail report concerning the loss of human life and/or personal injury, and/or property damage of $5,000 or more, shall state clearly, at a minimum, the following information:
(a) A description of the incident(s);
(b) The location(s) of the incident(s), including street addresses;
(c) The ward(s) and/or quadrant(s) where the incident(s) occurred;
(d) The estimated number of customers and/or persons affected, if known;
(e) A preliminary assessment as to the cause(s) of the incident(s), if known; and
(f) The steps the natural gas utility will voluntarily take to provide assistance to consumers.
3701.15 Written reports concerning all incidents that result in the loss of human life and/or personal injury requiring hospitalization, and/or property damage of $5,000 or more, directly or indirectly arising from or connected with the natural gas utility’s maintenance or operation, shall be filed with OCMS and OPC within five (5) days of the event occurrence.
3701.16 Each written report concerning the loss of human life and/or personal injury and/or loss of property in an amount of $5,000 or more, shall state clearly, at a minimum, the following information:
(a) A description of the incident(s) and information as to the cause of the incident(s);
(b) The location(s) of the incident(s), including street addresses;
(c) The ward(s) and/or quadrant(s) where the incident(s) occurred;
(d) The time the natural gas utility received the first call regarding the incident(s) or became aware of the incident(s);
(e) The estimated number of customers and/or persons affected, and street shutdowns;
(f) The steps the natural gas utility took to provide assistance;
(g) The amount of time it took for assistance to arrive;
(h) The total number of injuries and fatalities;
(i) The total dollar amount of damage caused by the incident(s), if known;
(j) The results of investigations into the root causes and steps the natural gas utility will implement to prevent such an occurrence in the future; and
(k) Any other information, including any third party damage, that may be requested by the Commission.
The natural gas utility shall update the initial written report within thirty (30) days of the event occurrence.