SB 950 — AN ACT CONCERNING THE REPLACEMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITY POLES AND REVISING VEGETATION MANAGEMENT IN UTILITY PROTECTION ZONES.

Senate General Assembly RaisedFile Bill No.

950190 January Session, 2021 LCOSenate Bill No.

3970950 ReferredSenate, toMarch 29, 2021 The Committee on ENERGYEnergy ANDand TECHNOLOGYTechnology Introducedreported by:through SEN.

(ET)NEEDLEMAN ANof ACTthe CONCERNING33rd THEDist., REPLACEMENTChairperson OFof PUBLICthe UTILITYCommittee POLESon ANDthe REVISINGpart VEGETATIONof MANAGEMENTthe INSenate, UTILITYthat PROTECTIONthe ZONES.bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING THE REPLACEMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITY POLES AND REVISING VEGETATION MANAGEMENT IN UTILITY PROTECTION ZONES.

Subsection (a) of section 16-234 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2021):SB950 / File No.

LCO190 39701 \\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2021SB-00950-R01SB950 ofFile 3 SB.docx Raised Bill No.

950190 (a)2021): As used in this section:

(a) As used in this section:

(4) "Vegetation management" means the retention of trees and shrubs that are compatible with the utility infrastructure and the pruning or removal of trees, shrubs or other vegetation that pose a risk to the reliability oftheutilityinfrastructure.Untilsuchtimeofthe utilityinfrastructure.Untilsuchtime astheDepartment of Energy and Environmental Protection issues standards for identifying such compatible trees and shrubs, the standards and identification of such compatible trees and shrubs shall be as set forth in the 2012 final report of the State Vegetation Management Task Force;

[and] (7) "Private property owner" means the owner of the property where a tree or shrub the utility proposes to remove or prune is located, which maySB950 include/ municipallyFile ownedNo. land;

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950190 (8)may "Threeinclude phasemunicipally main"owned meansland; the segment of a circuit which originatesdirectlyfromasubstationandisprotectedbyacircuitbreaker or a recloser-type device.

[.] (8) "Three phase main" means the segment of a circuit which originatesdirectlyfromasubstationandisprotectedbyacircuitbreaker or a recloser-type device.

3 July 1, 2021 16-234(e) ET Joint Favorable LCOSB950 3970/ {\\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2021SB-00950-File 3No. of 3 R01-SB.docx }

190 3 SB950 File No.

190 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None Explanation There is no fiscal impact resulting from the bill, which establishes a 90-day deadline for public service companies to place wires, cables, and other equipment on replaced utility poles after emergency events, and permits utilities to prune trees endangering certain infrastructure without first obtaining a permit from municipal tree wardens.

The Out Years State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None SB950 / File No.

190 4 SB950 File No.

190 OLR Bill Analysis SB 950 AN ACT CONCERNING THE REPLACEMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITY POLES AND REVISING VEGETATION MANAGEMENT IN UTILITY PROTECTION ZONES.

SUMMARY This bill sets a 90-day deadline for utility companies to place their lines and other equipment on a utility pole after it has been replaced.

Italsomakesiteasierforutilitiestotrimtreesnearathree-phasemain power line by exempting them, under certain circumstances, from requirements to obtain a permit from the local tree warden and consent from certain property owners.

Under the bill, a “three-phase main” is the segment of circuit that originates directly from a substation and is protected by a circuit breaker or recloser-type device.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

July 1, 2021 UTILITY POLES The bill requires public service companies to place their lines, conduits, cables, wires, and other equipment that they own or operate on a replaced public utility pole within 90 days after (1) an emergency requiring the pole’s replacement or (2) a preplanned pole replacement.

Under the bill, “public service companies” are the investor-owned utility companies generally regulated by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA).

An “emergency” is (1) a hurricane, tornado, storm, flood, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, drought or fire explosion or (2) an attack causing substantial damage or injury to civilian property or people in the country.

UTILITY TREE TRIMMING SB950 / File No.

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190 Current law generally requires a utility that plans to prune or remove a tree on municipal property to obtain a permit from the local tree warden (CGS § 23-65(f)).

If the tree is outside of the public right-of-way, current law also requires a utility to obtain written affirmative consent from the property owner where the tree is located (CGS § 16-234).

The bill exempts a utility from both of these requirements if any part of the tree is (1) located in the utility protection zone for a three-phase main or (2) part of a hazardous tree that could endanger a three-phase main.

By law, the “utility protections zone” is a rectangular area that extends horizontally for eight feet on either side of an electrical conductor or wire installed on a utility pole, and vertically from the ground to the sky.