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PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
SECOND 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 Commission hereby gives notice, pursuant to sections 2-505 and 34-802 of the District of Columbia Code[1] of its intent to amend chapter 36 of title 15 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR) in not less than thirty (30) days after publication of this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Notice or NOPR) in the D.C. Register. This chapter establishes electric utility reliability standards.
2. On March 11, 2011, the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia (Commission) caused to be published in the D.C. Register a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the above-captioned proceedings.[2] This Second Notice of Proposed Rulemaking supersedes that Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.
3. The proposed rule amends section 3603 (Reliability Standards) of chapter 36 of title 15 of the DCMR by deleting subsections 3603.10 through 3603.17 in their entirety and substituting the following:
3603.10 The utility shall not exceed the benchmark levels established for the following indices, calculated using District of Columbia data: System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI) and System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) (stated in hours).
3603.11 The benchmark levels for SAIDI and SAIFI are established as follows:
(a) For 2013, SAIDI shall be two and sixty-eight hundredths (2.68) and SAIFI shall be one and thirteen hundredths (1.13);
(b) For 2014, SAIDI shall be two and forty-three hundredths (2.43) and SAIFI shall be one and nine hundredths (1.09);
(c) For 2015, SAIDI shall be two and twenty-one hundredths (2.21) and SAIFI shall be one and five hundredths (1.05);
(d) For 2016, SAIDI shall be two (2.00) and SAIFI shall be one and two hundredths (1.02);
(e) For 2017, SAIDI shall be one and eighty-one hundredths (1.81) and SAIFI shall be ninety-eight hundredths (0.98);
(f) For 2018, SAIDI shall be one and sixty-five hundredths (1.65) and SAIFI shall be ninety-five hundredths (0.95);
(g) For 2019, SAIDI shall be one and forty-nine hundredths (1.49) and SAIFI shall be ninety-two hundredths (0.92); and
(h) For 2020, and thereafter, SAIDI shall be one and thirty-five hundredths (1.35) and SAIFI shall be eighty-nine hundredths (0.89).
3603.12 The calculations of the indices in subsection 3603.11 shall be based on District of Columbia-specific data and shall exclude OMS data for Major Service Outages.
3603.13 If the utility fails to comply with subsection 3603.10, it may be subject to forfeiture in accordance with D.C. Official Code §§ 34-706 and 34-1508 (2001). The utility shall also be required to develop a corrective action plan, which it shall file for the Commission’s information within thirty (30) days of filing the Consolidated Report.
3603.14 The corrective action plan shall clearly describe the cause(s) of the utility’s failure to comply with subsection 3603.10 and describe the corrective measure(s) to be taken to ensure that the standard is met or exceeded in the future. The plan shall provide targets for completion of the corrective measure(s) and for meeting or exceeding the standards.
3603.15 The utility shall report on the progress of the corrective action plan in the following year’s Consolidated Report submitted to the Commission.
3603.16 The utility shall report annual reliability indices of SAIFI, SAIDI and CAIDI (with and without Major Service Outages and using District of Columbia-specific data) in the annual Consolidated Report of the following year.
4. All persons interested in commenting on the subject matter of this proposed rulemaking action may submit written comments and reply comments no later than thirty (30) and forty-five (45) days, respectively, after publication of this Second Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the D.C. Register with Dorothy Wideman, Commission Secretary, Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia, 1333 H Street, N.W., West Tower, Suite 200, Washington, D.C. 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 the above address.
