Relating to the authority of the Railroad Commission of Texas and the Public Utility Commission of Texas to address a failure by an operator to maintain an electrical power line serving a well site or certain surface facilities in accordance with the National Electrical Code.
relating to the authority of the Railroad Commission of Texas and
the Public Utility Commission of Texas to address a failure by an
operator to maintain an electrical power line serving a well site or
certain surface facilities in accordance with the National
Electrical Code.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 91.019, Natural Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 91.019. STANDARDS FOR CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION, AND
MAINTENANCE OF ELECTRICAL POWER LINES. (a) An operator shall
construct, operate, and maintain an electrical power line serving a
well site or other surface facility employed in operations incident
to oil and gas development and production in accordance with:
(1) the National Electrical Code published by the
National Fire Protection Association and adopted by the Texas
Commission of Licensing and Regulation under Chapter 1305,
Occupations Code; or
(2) 16 T.A.C. Sections 25.94, 25.95, and 25.96, as
those provisions existed on September 1, 2025, if the operator is a
utility as defined by Section 11.004, Utilities Code, engaged in
the maintenance of an electronic transmission and distribution
system.
(b) If, during an inspection by the commission of a well
site or surface facility employed in operations incident to oil and
gas development and production or on the receipt of a written notice
submitted by a landowner or lessee, the commission discovers a
condition involving an electrical power line, pole, or any other
related electrical equipment that does not meet the standards
described by Subsection (a) and poses a risk of causing a fire or
injury to a person, the commission shall, not later than three days
after the discovery of the condition, notify the Public Utility
Commission of Texas and the operator. The notification provided by
the commission must include a description of the condition and
whether the well is abandoned. To resolve the condition, the
commission and the Public Utility Commission of Texas, in
collaboration, shall, not later than 10 days after the Public
Utility Commission of Texas receives notice from the commission,
notify the landowner of the condition and inform the landowner of
the actions the commission and the Public Utility Commission of
Texas will take to resolve the condition, and:
(1) request that the state fire marshal or a local
government authority inspect the condition at the well site or
surface facility and require the operator to mitigate any dangerous
conditions identified by the state fire marshal or local government
authority;
(2) request that the electric utility that provides
electric service to the well site or surface facility investigate
the condition and disconnect electric service to the well site or
surface facility, if necessary; or
(3) take any other action the commission and the
Public Utility Commission of Texas consider necessary and
appropriate to resolve the condition.
(c) If electric service was disconnected by an electric
utility pursuant to a request made under Subsection (b)(2), the
utility must restore electric service to the well site or surface
facility on receipt of notice by the commission that the condition
has been resolved.
SECTION 2. Section 91.019, Natural Resources Code, as
amended by this Act, applies to an inspection that occurs on or
after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
