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TITLE 16ECONOMIC REGULATION
PART 2PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS
CHAPTER 25SUBSTANTIVE RULES APPLICABLE TO ELECTRIC SERVICE PROVIDERS
SUBCHAPTER ECERTIFICATION, LICENSING AND REGISTRATION
RULE §25.101Certification Criteria

    (F) The relocation, alteration, or reconstruction of a transmission facility due to the requirements of any federal, state, county, or municipal governmental body or agency for purposes including, but not limited to, highway transportation, airport construction, public safety, or air and water quality, provided that:

      (i) all landowners of property crossed by the electric facilities have given prior written consent; and

      (ii) the relocation, alteration, or reconstruction is responsive to the governmental request.

  (6) Upgrades to an existing transmission line by an MPE that do not require any additional land, right-of-way, easement, or other property not owned by the MOU;

  (7) The construction, installation, or extension of a transmission facility by an MPE that is entirely located not more than 10 miles outside of an MOU's certificated service area that occurs before September 1, 2021; or

  (8) A transmission facility by an MOU placed in service after September 1, 2015, that is developed to interconnect a new natural gas generation facility to the ERCOT transmission grid and for which, on or before January 1, 2015, an MOU was contractually obligated to purchase at least 190 megawatts of capacity.

(d) Standards of construction and operation. In determining standard practice, the commission shall be guided by the provisions of the American National Standards Institute, Incorporated, the National Electrical Safety Code, and such other codes and standards that are generally accepted by the industry, except as modified by this commission or by municipal regulations within their jurisdiction. Each electric utility shall construct, install, operate, and maintain its plant, structures, equipment, and lines in accordance with these standards, and in such manner to best accommodate the public, and to prevent interference with service furnished by other public utilities insofar as practical.

  (1) The standards of construction shall apply to, but are not limited to, the construction of any new electric transmission facilities, rebuilding, upgrading, or relocation of existing electric transmission facilities.

  (2) For electric transmission line construction requiring the acquisition of new rights-of-way, electric utilities must include in the easement agreement, at a minimum, a provision prohibiting the new construction of any above-ground structures within the right-of-way. New construction of structures shall not include necessary repairs to existing structures, farm or livestock facilities, storage barns, hunting structures, small personal storage sheds, or similar structures. Utilities may negotiate appropriate exceptions in instances where the electric utility is subject to a restrictive agreement being granted by a governmental agency or within the constraints of an industrial site. Any exception to this paragraph must meet all applicable requirements of the National Electrical Safety Code.

  (3) Measures shall be applied when appropriate to mitigate the adverse impacts of the construction of any new electric transmission facilities, and the rebuilding, upgrading, or relocation of existing electric transmission facilities. Mitigation measures shall be adapted to the specifics of each project and may include such requirements as:

    (A) selective clearing of the right-of-way to minimize the amount of flora and fauna disturbed;

    (B) implementation of erosion control measures;

    (C) reclamation of construction sites with native species of grasses, forbs, and shrubs; and

    (D) returning site to its original contours and grades.

(e) Certificates of convenience and necessity for existing service areas and facilities. For purposes of granting these certificates for those facilities and areas in which an electric utility was providing service on September 1, 1975, or was actively engaged in the construction, installation, extension, improvement of, or addition to any facility actually used or to be used in providing electric utility service on September 1, 1975, unless found by the commission to be otherwise, the following provisions shall prevail for certification purposes:

  (1) The electrical generation facilities and service area boundary of an electric utility having such facilities in place or being actively engaged in the construction, installation, extension, improvement of, or addition to such facilities or the electric utility's system as of September 1, 1975, shall be limited, unless otherwise provided, to the facilities and real property on which the facilities were actually located, used, or dedicated as of September 1, 1975.

  (2) The transmission facilities and service area boundary of an electric utility having such facilities in place or being actively engaged in the construction, installation, extension, improvement of, or addition to such facilities or the electric utility's system as of September 1, 1975, shall be, unless otherwise provided, the facilities and a corridor extending 100 feet on either side of said transmission facilities in place, used or dedicated as of September 1, 1975.

  (3) The facilities and service area boundary for the following types of electric utilities providing distribution or collection service to any area, or actively engaged in the construction, installation, extension, improvement of, or addition to such facilities or the electric utility's system as of September 1, 1975, shall be limited, unless otherwise found by the commission, to the facilities and the area which lie within 200 feet of any point along a distribution line, which is specifically deemed to include service drop lines, for electrical utilities.

(f) Transferability of certificates. Any certificate granted under this section is not transferable without approval of the commission and shall continue in force until further order of the commission.

(g) Certification forms. All applications for certificates of convenience and necessity shall be filed on commission-prescribed forms so that the granting of certificates, both contested and uncontested, may be expedited. Forms may be obtained from Central Records.

(h) Commission authority. Nothing in this section is intended to limit the commission's authority to recommend or direct the construction of transmission under PURA §§35.005, 36.008, or 39.203(e).


Source Note: The provisions of this §25.101 adopted to be effective January 1, 2003, 27 TexReg 10016; amended to be effective May 25, 2011, 36 TexReg 3182; amended to be effective April 4, 2012, 37 TexReg 2167; amended to be effective May 7, 2014, 39 TexReg 3588; amended to be effective May 7, 2015, 40 TexReg 2411; amended to be effective July 5, 2016, 41 TexReg 4805

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