2328793 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued in FC No. 766, FC No. 982, FC No. 991 and FC No. 1002 to amend Chapter 36 of Title 15 of the DCMR

 

 

 

PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

 

 

NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING

 

FORMAL CASE NO. 766, IN THE MATTER OF THE COMMISSION’S FUEL ADJUSTMENT CLAUSE AUDIT AND REVIEW PROGRAM;

 

FORMAL CASE NO. 982, IN THE MATTER OF AN INVESTIGATION INTO POTOMAC ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY REGARDING INTERRUPTION TO ELECTRIC ENERGY SERVICE;

 

FORMAL CASE NO. 991, IN THE MATTER OF AN INVESTIGATION INTO EXPLOSIONS OCCURRING IN OR AROUND THE UNDERGROUND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS OF THE POTOMAC ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY;

 

AND

 

FORMAL CASE NO. 1002, IN THE MATTER OF THE JOINT APPLICATION OF PEPCO AND THE NEW RC, INC. FOR AUTHORIZATION AND APPROVAL OF MERGER TRANSACTION

 

 

            1.         The Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia (Commission) hereby gives notice pursuant to section 34-802 of the District of Columbia Official Code and in accordance with section 2-505 of the District of Columbia Official Code[1] of its intent to amend chapter 36 of title 15 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR) not less than thirty (30) days after publication of this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Notice or NOPR) in the D.C. Register.  The proposed amendments would require the Potomac Electric Power Company (Pepco) to establish and follow a Major Service Outage Restoration Plan, and would prescribe

the minimum content of such a Plan.  In addition, the Commission continues to consider whether it will establish restoration benchmarks in addition to requiring Pepco to establish and follow this Plan.[2]

 

Section 3603, Reliability Standards, chapter 36, Electricity Quality of Service Standards, of title 15, of the DCMR is amended as follows:

 

Subsection 3603.20 is amended to read as follows:

 

 3603.20          Within sixty (60) days of the effective date of this section 3603.20, the utility shall file with the Commission a Major Service Outage Restoration Plan. The utility shall comply with its Major Service Outage Restoration Plan when preparing for and responding to a Major Service Outage.  The Major Service Outage Restoration Plan shall provide a description of and procedures for the Utility’s response to Major Service Outage events, including, but not limited to, the following topics and issues:

 

(a)        Major Service Outage restoration preparation, training, and drills;

 

(b)        Early storm detection, storm tracking, and internal and external warnings;

 

(c)        Activation, mobilization and deployment of internal and external resources, including both staffing levels and equipment;

 

(d)       Materials management and logistics;

 

(e)        Major Service Outage restoration priorities, taking into account, among other priorities, the electric power needs of emergency responders and their associated dispatching systems, hospitals, water and sewer pumping stations, natural gas utility and telecommunications service providers, national security and other essential agencies of the federal and District governments, and other essential services.  In addition, the utility shall describe:

 

            (1)        How it prioritizes power restoration between the various

                         priority classifications adopted by the utility;

 

            (2)        How it prioritizes power restoration among electric

                        customers falling within the same priority classification; and

 

(3)        How the utility prioritizes restoration of power for, and communicates, with customers, including residential customers, that have demonstrated to the utility a medical need for electricity;

 

 (f)       Damage assessment and inspections;

 

(g)        Public safety, including wire down response in situations in which downed wires are guarded by fire or police responders and situations in which downed wire are not guarded by fire or police responders;

 

(h)        Deployment and supervision of, and communications with, field crews, whether composed of the utility’s employees, employees of third party contractors, or composed of temporary personnel obtained through a mutual assistance agreement, or otherwise; 

 

(i)         Pruning and trimming of vegetation, removal of downed trees and tree limbs, and removal of storm debris other than vegetation;

 

(j)         Replacement of downed poles and wires;

 

(k)        External communications, including communications with the:

 

(1)        Utility’s customers, the public at large and other interested persons;

 

(2)        District’s emergency responders, emergency management and communication officials, and transportation officials;

 

(3)        Commission’s Members and designated staff;

 

(4)        District’s elected officials;

 

(5)        District Advisory Neighborhood Commission members;

 

(6)        District’s Office of the People’s Counsel;

 

(7)        Telecommunication or cable service providers owning overhead wires or antennae attached to the utility’s poles located in the District; and

 

(8)        District’s Urban Forestry Administration;

 

(l)         Internal communications;

 

(m)       Communications technology use, including high call volume capability and capacity, use of social media, use of radio,  television and the print press, and use and functionality of the utility’s website;

 

(n)        Development and communication of estimated times of restoration and assessment of estimated times of restoration accuracy, both during and subsequent to the Major Service Outage;

 

(o)        Ramp-down and post-event inspection and reporting; and

 

(p)        A Major Service Outage Restoration Plan performance assessment model describing the manner in which the utility shall, within sixty (60) days following the completion of its power restoration following a Major Service Outage, evaluate and report upon its performance under each of the criteria included in its Major Service Outage Restoration Plan. 

 

3603.21           The utility shall file with the Commission any material change to its Major Service Outage Restoration Plan at least sixty (60) days prior to implementation, unless such timing will delay implementation of the change in a manner inconsistent with restoring service in the shortest time practicable, in which case the change shall be filed no later than thirty (30) days after implementing the change.

 

            2.         All persons interested in commenting on the subject matter of this proposed rulemaking action may submit written comments and reply comments not later than thirty (30) and forty-five (45) days, respectively, after publication of this notice in the D.C. Register with Brinda Westbrook-Sedgwick Commission Secretary, Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia, 1333 H Street, N.W., West Tower, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20005.  Copies of the proposed rules may be obtained by visiting the Commission’s website at www.dcpsc.org or at cost, by contacting the Commission Secretary at [phone] or [e-mail].

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[1]               D.C. Official Code § 34-802 (2010) and D.C. Official Code § 2-505 (2011).

 

[2]               In Order No. 16249 (Formal Case No. 766, In the Matter of the Commission’s Fuel Adjustment Clause Audit and Review Program; Formal Case No. 982, In the Matter of an Investigation into Potomac Electric Power Company Regarding an Interruption to Electrical Energy Service, Formal Case No. 991, In the Matter of an Investigation into Explosions Occurring In or Around the Underground Distribution Systems of the Potomac Electric Power Company, and Formal Case No. 1002, In the Matter of the Joint Application of Pepco and the New RC, Inc. for Authorization and Approval of Merger Transactions, Order No. 16249,  rel. March 11, 2011) the Commission began an inquiry into whether to establish rules governing Pepco’s restoration of  electric distribution service in the District following a Major Service Outage (“MSO”).   Included in this inquiry is our examination whether a plan and standards (benchmarks) should be developed to prescribe, respectively, the manner in which Pepco should prepare for and respond to a MSO, and the time within which Pepco should, following a MSO, restore power to the greater percentage of customers that lost electric service during that outage period.