Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the summary and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §3144 is enacted to read:
The commission shall direct transmission and distribution utilities to take all cost-effective actions, including monitoring their 345-kilovolt transformers, to ensure that their systems are protected from or able to negate effects of severe geomagnetic disturbances. Any action directed by the commission must be consistent with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's reliability standards.
As part of its annual report submitted pursuant to section 120, the commission shall include a summary of actions taken under this section.’
SUMMARY
This amendment is a minority report of the committee. It removes the directive to the Public Utilities Commission to order transmission and distribution utilities to undertake actions to ensure their systems are protected from or able to negate effects of electromagnetic pulses and limits the directive to severe geomagnetic disturbances only. It also requires the commission to direct transmission and distribution utilities to monitor their 345-kilovolt transformers to ensure they are protected from severe geomagnetic disturbances. This amendment specifies that any action directed by the commission must be cost-effective and consistent with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's reliability standards. It removes language that specifies that all costs incurred by transmission and distribution utilities as a result of the requirements imposed under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 35-A, section 3144 are just and reasonable for rate-making purposes. It also removes language that prohibits a transmission and distribution utility from collecting from ratepayers costs to address the failure of the system due to geomagnetic disturbances or electromagnetic pulses.
This amendment removes section 2 of the bill, which requires the commission by July 1, 2016 to direct transmission and distribution utilities to undertake specific mitigation measures to protect against geomagnetic disturbances and electromagnetic pulses.