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Texas PUC Staff Would Decline To Require TDUs To Develop ESI ID Outage Database As Part Of Recommended Draft For Final Outage Tracker Rules
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In a proposal for adoption on new rules requiring TDUs to maintain online outage trackers (or maps), Texas PUC Staff would decline to require TDUs to maintain an ESI ID outage database which would have allowed the REP of record to see if such ESI ID was included in an outage, and, if so, the TDU's estimated restoration time
An ESI ID outage tracker, similar to the SMT portal, had been proposed by the Texas Energy Association for Marketers, particularly as an alternative to a previously proposed rule, in another proceeding, which would have required that REPs share customer contact info with the TDU, for purposes of the TDU informing customers of outages (as previously reported, consideration of such mandated sharing of customer contact info by a REP has been shelved)
In the outage tracker proceeding, Staff's draft preamble under a proposal for adoption would decline to add an ESI ID outage tracker requirement to the outage tracker rule, stating that such a mechanism is outside the scope of the rule which is focused on customer-accessible outage trackers
Staff further said that various stakeholder proposals concerning "active" utility notification systems are also outside the scope of the rulemaking
The proposed final rule would require TDUs to maintain an online outage tracker or outage map on their website which shall list, among other things, the "approximate" location of the outage, the estimated restoration time, and the "general" status of the restoration effort
Staff agreed with TEAM's recommendation that the TDU's outage tracker shall include at least one digital means for a customer to report an outage to the utility.
Citing safety concerns, Staff do not recommend mandating in rule that customers must only provide their service address in order to receive premise-specific outage information, as such outage info could be used to target unpowered homes. Staff reported that some TDUs do not provide premise-specific information without the customer first providing additional identifying information, other than service address, for safety reasons (both personal and property)
"This is a reasonable policy for a utility to have, and the commission will not prohibit it by rule," Staff's draft states
Staff would not grant a blanket extension of the effective date of the outage tracker rule, as sought by some TDUs. However, Staff does propose that TDUs be permitted, for specific requirements, to explain why such requirements cannot be met upon the rule's effective date, and to provide a projected implementation date for compliance with any such specific requirements, with such implementation date to be no later than June 1, 2025
Staff generally agreed with the Alliance for Retail Markets that the instances in which TDUs must notify the PUC about any unavailability of the outage tracker should be broadened
Under Staff's draft, a TDU would, as soon as reasonably practicable, be required to notify the PUC if the utility's outage tracker or outage map unexpectedly becomes unavailable or if the utility determines that maintenance is required within the next seven days.
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February 10, 2025
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Copyright 2025 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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