| (a) Application. This section applies to an electric
utility, transmission and distribution utility, power generation company
(PGC), municipally owned utility, electric cooperative, and retail
electric provider (REP), and to the Electric Reliability Council of
Texas (ERCOT).
(b) Definitions.
(1) Annex -- a section of an emergency operations plan
that addresses how an entity plans to respond in an emergency involving
a specified type of hazard or threat.
(2) Drill -- an operations-based exercise that is a
coordinated, supervised activity employed to test an entity's EOP
or a portion of an entity's EOP. A drill may be used to develop or
test new policies or procedures or to practice and maintain current
skills.
(3) Emergency -- a situation in which the known, potential
consequences of a hazard or threat are sufficiently imminent and severe
that an entity should take prompt action to prepare for and reduce
the impact of harm that may result from the hazard or threat. The
term includes an emergency declared by local, state, or federal government,
or ERCOT or another reliability coordinator designated by the North
American Electric Reliability Corporation and that is applicable to
the entity.
(4) Entity -- an electric utility, transmission and
distribution utility, PGC, municipally owned utility, electric cooperative,
REP, or ERCOT.
(5) Hazard -- a natural, technological, or human-caused
condition that is potentially dangerous or harmful to life, information,
operations, the environment, or property, including a condition that
is potentially harmful to the continuity of electric service.
(6) Threat -- the intention and capability of an individual
or organization to harm life, information, operations, the environment,
or property, including harm to the continuity of electric service.
(c) Filing requirements.
(1) An entity must file an emergency operations plan
(EOP) and executive summary under this section by April 15, 2022.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, a municipally owned utility must provide
its EOP and executive summary in the manner prescribed by the commission
in this paragraph no later than June 1, 2022. Each individual entity
is responsible for compliance with the requirements of this section.
An entity filing a joint EOP or other joint document under this section
on behalf of one or more entities over which it has control is jointly
responsible for each entity's compliance with the requirements of
this section.
(A) An entity must file with the commission:
(i) an executive summary that:
(I) describes the contents and policies contained in
the EOP;
(II) includes a reference to specific sections and
page numbers of the entity's EOP that correspond with the requirements
of this rule;
(III) includes the record of distribution required
under paragraph (4)(A) of this subsection; and
(IV) contains the affidavit required under paragraph
(4)(C) of this subsection; and
(ii) a complete copy of the EOP with all confidential
portions removed.
(B) For an entity with operations within the ERCOT
power region, the entity must submit its unredacted EOP in its entirety
to ERCOT.
(C) ERCOT must designate an unredacted EOP submitted
by an entity as Protected Information under the ERCOT Protocols.
(D) An entity must make its unredacted EOP available
in its entirety to commission staff on request at a location designated
by commission staff.
(E) An entity may file a joint EOP on behalf of itself
and one or more other entities over which it has control provided
that:
(i) the executive summary required under subparagraph
(A)(i) of this paragraph identifies which sections of the joint EOP
apply to each entity; and
(ii) the joint EOP satisfies the requirements of this
section for each entity as if each entity had filed a separate EOP.
(F) An entity filing a joint EOP under subparagraph
(E) of this paragraph may also jointly file one or more of the documents
required under paragraph (4) of this subsection provided that each
joint document satisfies the requirements for each entity to which
the document applies.
(G) An entity that is required to file similar annexes
for different facility types under subsection (e) of this section,
such as a pandemic annex for both generation facilities and transmission
and distribution facilities, may file a single combined annex addressing
the requirement for multiple facility types. The combined annex must
conspicuously identify the facilities to which it applies.
(2) A person seeking registration as a PGC or certification
as a REP must meet the filing requirements under paragraph (1)(A)
of this subsection at the time it applies for registration or certification
with the commission and must submit the EOP to ERCOT if it will operate
in the ERCOT power region, no later than ten days after the commission
approves the person's registration or certification.
(3) An entity must continuously maintain its EOP. Beginning
in 2023, an entity must annually update information included in its
EOP no later than March 15 under the following circumstances:
(A) An entity that in the previous calendar year made
a change to its EOP that materially affects how the entity would respond
to an emergency must:
(i) file with the commission an executive summary that:
(I) describes the changes to the contents or policies
contained in the EOP;
(II) includes an updated reference to specific sections
and page numbers of the entity's EOP that correspond with the requirements
of this rule;
(III) includes the record of distribution required
under paragraph (4)(A) of this subsection; and
(IV) contains the affidavit required under paragraph
(4)(C) of this subsection;
(ii) file with the commission a complete, revised copy
of the EOP with all confidential portions removed; and
(iii) submit to ERCOT its revised unredacted EOP in
its entirety if the entity operates within the ERCOT power region.
(B) An entity that in the previous calendar year did
not make a change to its EOP that materially affects how the entity
would respond to an emergency must file with the commission:
(i) a pleading that documents any changes to the list
of emergency contacts as provided under paragraph (4)(B) of this subsection;
(ii) an attestation from the entity's highest-ranking
representative, official, or officer with binding authority over the
entity stating the entity did not make a change to its EOP that materially
affects how the entity would respond to an emergency; and
(iii) the affidavit described under paragraph (4)(C)
of this subsection.
(C) An entity must update its EOP or other documents
required under this section if commission staff determines that the
entity's EOP or other documents do not contain sufficient information
to determine whether the entity can provide adequate electric service
through an emergency. If directed by commission staff, the entity
must file its revised EOP or other documentation, or a portion thereof,
with the commission and, for entities with operations in the ERCOT
power region, with ERCOT.
(D) ERCOT must designate any revised unredacted EOP
submitted by an entity as Protected Information under the ERCOT Protocols.
(E) An entity must make a revised unredacted EOP available
in its entirety to commission staff on request at a location designated
by commission staff.
(F) The requirements for joint and combined filings
under paragraph (1) of this subsection apply to revised joint and
revised combined filings under this paragraph.
(4) In accordance with the deadlines prescribed by
paragraphs (1) and (3) of this subsection, an entity must file with
the commission the following documents:
(A) A record of distribution that contains the following
information in table format:
(i) titles and names of persons in the entity's organization
receiving access to and training on the EOP; and
(ii) dates of access to or training on the EOP, as
appropriate;
(B) A list of primary and, if possible, backup emergency
contacts for the entity, including identification of specific individuals
who can immediately address urgent requests and questions from the
commission during an emergency; and
(C) An affidavit from the entity's highest-ranking
representative, official, or officer with binding authority over the
entity affirming the following:
(i) relevant operating personnel are familiar with
and have received training on the applicable contents and execution
of the EOP, and such personnel are instructed to follow the applicable
portions of the EOP except to the extent deviations are appropriate
as a result of specific circumstances during the course of an emergency;
(ii) the EOP has been reviewed and approved by the
appropriate executives;
(iii) drills have been conducted to the extent required
by subsection (f) of this section;
(iv) the EOP or an appropriate summary has been distributed
to local jurisdictions as needed;
(v) the entity maintains a business continuity plan
that addresses returning to normal operations after disruptions caused
by an incident; and
(vi) the entity's emergency management personnel who
are designated to interact with local, state, and federal emergency
management officials during emergency events have received the latest
IS-100, IS-200, IS-700, and IS-800 National Incident Management System
training.
(5) Notwithstanding the other requirements of this
subsection, ERCOT must maintain its own current EOP in its entirety,
consistent with the requirements of this section and available for
review by commission staff.
(d) Information to be included in the emergency operations
plan. An entity's EOP must address both common operational functions
that are relevant across emergency types and annexes that outline
the entity's response to specific types of emergencies, including
those listed in subsection (e) of this section. An EOP may consist
of one or multiple documents. Each entity's EOP must include the information
identified below, as applicable. If a provision in this section does
not apply to an entity, the entity must include in its EOP an explanation
of why the provision does not apply.
(1) An approval and implementation section that:
(A) introduces the EOP and outlines its applicability;
(B) lists the individuals responsible for maintaining
and implementing the EOP, and those who can change the EOP;
(C) provides a revision control summary that lists
the dates of each change made to the EOP since the initial EOP filing
pursuant to subsection (c)(1) of this section;
(D) provides a dated statement that the current EOP
supersedes previous EOPs; and
(E) states the date the EOP was most recently approved
by the entity.
(2) A communication plan.
(A) An entity with transmission or distribution service
operations must describe the procedures during an emergency for handling
complaints and for communicating with the public; the media; customers;
the commission; the Office of Public Utility Counsel (OPUC); local
and state governmental entities, officials, and emergency operations
centers, as appropriate in the circumstances for the entity; the reliability
coordinator for its power region; and critical load customers directly
served by the entity.
(B) An entity with generation operations must describe
the procedures during an emergency for communicating with the media;
the commission; OPUC; fuel suppliers; local and state governmental
entities, officials, and emergency operations centers, as appropriate
in the circumstances for the entity; and the applicable reliability
coordinator.
(C) A REP must describe the procedures for communicating
during an emergency with the public, media, customers, the commission,
and OPUC, and the procedures for handling complaints during an emergency.
(D) ERCOT must describe the procedures for communicating,
in advance of and during an emergency, with the public, the media,
the commission, OPUC, governmental entities and officials, the state
emergency operations center, and market participants.
(3) A plan to maintain pre-identified supplies for
emergency response.
(4) A plan that addresses staffing during emergency
response.
(5) A plan that addresses how an entity identifies
weather-related hazards, including tornadoes, hurricanes, extreme
cold weather, extreme hot weather, drought, and flooding, and the
process the entity follows to activate the EOP.
(6) Each relevant annex, as detailed in subsection
(e) of this section, and other annexes applicable to an entity.
(e) Annexes to be included in the emergency operations
plan.
(1) An electric utility, a transmission and distribution
utility, a municipally owned utility, and an electric cooperative
a must include in its EOP for its transmission and distribution facilities
the following annexes:
(A) A weather emergency annex that includes:
Cont'd... |
