Bill > HB145

This bill introduces comprehensive wildfire risk mitigation requirements for electric utilities in Texas, focusing on two main areas: self-insurance and wildfire mitigation planning. Electric utilities will now be allowed to self-insure for potential wildfire damages, with the Public Utility Commission (PUC) required to approve such plans after evaluating factors like historical data, actuarial studies, and potential disaster risks. The bill mandates that utilities operating in wildfire risk areas must develop and submit detailed wildfire mitigation plans to the PUC, which must include comprehensive provisions such as vegetation management strategies, infrastructure inspection processes, community outreach plans, procedures for de-energizing power lines, and independent expert analyses of fire risk. Importantly, utilities that successfully submit, obtain approval for, and implement these plans can use them as legal evidence in damage claims and may be shielded from liability if they can prove they were not intentionally or recklessly negligent during a wildfire event. The bill also empowers the PUC to impose administrative penalties on utilities that fail to comply with the new requirements. Utilities must file their initial wildfire mitigation plans after the PUC adopts implementing rules, with the goal of improving preparedness and reducing wildfire risks in Texas.

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https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB145