Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ALEX SAUICKIE
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Requires BPU to establish minimum staffing requirements for certain electric public utility personnel.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing minimum staffing requirements for electric public utilities and supplementing Title 48 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section:
“Board” means the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities or its successor.
“Electric public utility” means a public utility, as that term is defined pursuant to R.S.48:2-13, that transmits and distributes electricity to end users within the State.
“Major event” means a sustained interruption of electric service resulting from conditions beyond the control of an electric public utility that affects at least ten percent of the customers in an electric public utility’s service area for a period of at least 48 hours, which conditions include, but are not limited to, extreme weather events.
“Utility worker” means a person who performs repair work for an electric public utility after a major event, which work includes, but is not limited to, vegetation management; traffic control; and the installation, maintenance, and repair of electric transmission and distribution system infrastructure.
b. Notwithstanding any law, rule, regulation, or order to the contrary, the board shall establish minimum staffing requirements for the number of utility workers employed by each electric public utility in the State. To establish this requirement, the board shall consider, at a minimum:
(1) similar staffing requirements in other states;
(2) any national or industry standards for such staffing levels;
(3) historic utility worker employment levels for each electric public utility; and
(4) the current frequency and likelihood of future occurrences of major events within each electric public utility’s service area.
c. The board shall establish a process for an electric public utility to petition the board to reduce the number of utility workers employed by the electric public utility below the minimum staffing requirement established pursuant to subsection b. of this section, which process shall include, at a minimum, criteria to guide the board’s review of such petitions.
d. The board shall, in accordance with the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations as necessary to implement this section.
2. This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Board of Public Utilities (board) to establish minimum staffing requirements for the number of utility workers, as defined in the bill, employed by each electric public utility in the State based on, at a minimum: similar staffing requirements in other states; any national or industry standards for such staffing levels; historic utility worker employment levels for each electric public utility; and the current frequency and likelihood of future occurrences of major events within each electric public utility’s service area. The bill also requires the board to establish a process for an electric public utility to petition the board to employ fewer utility workers than mandated by the minimum staffing requirement.