Bill > HB144

This bill requires electric cooperatives, electric utilities, and municipally owned utilities to develop and submit comprehensive distribution pole management plans to the Public Utility Commission of Texas. These plans must outline strategies for ensuring public safety through effective pole management, including specific requirements such as defining roles and responsibilities, establishing personnel training and certification processes, creating timelines for pole inspections and repairs, developing complaint response procedures, and describing methods for monitoring plan compliance. Each utility must submit an annual update detailing their compliance, inspection results, and implementation costs. The commission will review these plans to verify adherence to their stated safety objectives, with the option to accept substantially similar information already required by other laws. Utilities must submit their initial plans by January 1, 2027, with the Public Utility Commission allowed to establish different submission dates for different types of utilities. The bill aims to improve infrastructure maintenance and enhance public safety by creating a standardized, transparent approach to distribution pole management across different types of electrical service providers.

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https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB144