Relating to plans for the management and inspection of transmission and distribution poles.
relating to plans for the management and inspection of transmission
and distribution poles.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Subchapter E, Chapter 38,
Utilities Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER E. INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT AND MAINTENANCE [REPORT]
SECTION 2. Subchapter E, Chapter 38, Utilities Code, is
amended by adding Section 38.103 to read as follows:
Sec. 38.103. TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION POLE PLAN. (a)
Each electric cooperative, electric utility, and municipally owned
utility that distributes electric energy to the public shall submit
to the commission a plan for the management and inspection of
transmission and distribution poles in the entity’s transmission
and distribution system.
(b) Each plan submitted under Subsection (a) must include:
(1) a statement of the plan’s scope and objectives;
(2) the roles, responsibilities, and accountability
of individuals responsible for overseeing and executing the plan;
(3) a description of the cooperative’s or utility’s
processes for:
(A) the management, repair, and inspection of
transmission and distribution poles on the entity’s transmission
and distribution system;
(B) the training and certifying of personnel,
including third-party vendors, who inspect and repair transmission
and distribution poles; and
(C) the documentation of and response to a report
or complaint made by a landowner regarding the condition or repair
of transmission or distribution poles;
(4) for each transmission and distribution pole to be
inspected:
(A) a deadline by which the inspection will be
completed;
(B) a process by which inspection records will be
submitted; and
(C) a timeline for any remedial action required
for a pole identified as unreliable, unsafe, or needing repair; and
(5) a proposed budget for implementing the plan.
(c) The commission shall approve, modify, or reject a plan
submitted to the commission under Subsection (a) not later than the
180th day after the date the plan is submitted.
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), at least once
every three years, an entity to which this section applies shall
submit an update to the commission detailing the entity’s
compliance with the plan’s objectives, the costs of implementing
the plan, and the entity’s inspection results and repair schedule.
An electric utility may submit the update in a report required under
Section 38.101.
(e) At least once each month, an entity to which this
section applies shall submit an update to the commission of the
information described by Subsection (b)(4). An update must include
for each transmission and distribution pole inspected an indication
of whether the pole passed inspection and was determined to be safe,
reliable, and able to withstand extreme weather conditions,
including high winds.
SECTION 3. Not later than January 1, 2026, each entity to
which Section 38.103, Utilities Code, as added by this Act, applies
shall submit the plan required by that section to the Public Utility
Commission of Texas.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
