BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1453
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Date of Hearing: April 27, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Anthony Rendon, Chair
AB 1453
(Rendon) - As Amended April 20, 2015
SUBJECT: Electrical corporations: underground electrical
facilities: worker safety
SUMMARY: This bill requires the California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC) to adopt a rule regulating work performed in
underground electrical facilities by electrical corporations
that is consistent with certain worker safety protections.
Specifically, this bill:
a)Requires the CPUC, by January 1, 2017, to adopt a rule
regulating work performed in underground electrical facilities
by or on behalf of an electrical corporation that does all of
the following:
Prohibits work directly on energized underground
electrical equipment, and
Requires a qualified electrical worker to determine that
underground electrical equipment has been deenergized and
is in a mode that would make the equipment safe to be
worked on.
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a)Defines "underground electrical equipment" to mean equipment
energized in excess of 600 volts, and all or part of the
equipment is in an underground electrical facility.
b)Defines "underground electrical facility" to mean a vault,
manhole, or other subsurface confined structure.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Authorizes the CPUC, after a hearing, to require every public
utility to construct, maintain, and operate its line, plant,
system, equipment, apparatus, tracks, and premises in a manner
so as to promote and safeguard the health and safety of its
employees, passengers, customers, and the public. (Public
Utilities Code Section 768)
2)Authorizes the CPUC to prescribe, among other things, the
installation, use, maintenance, and operation of appropriate
safety or other devices or appliances, including interlocking
and other protective devices at grade crossings or junctions
and block or other systems of signaling. (Public Utilities
Code Section 768)
3)Authorizes the CPUC to establish uniform or other standards of
construction and equipment, and require the performance of any
other act which the health or safety of its employees,
passengers, customers, or the public may demand. (Public
Utilities Code Section 768)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
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COMMENTS:
1)Author's Statement: "High voltage electrical work, defined as
more than 600 volts, is inherently dangerous. When this work
is performed in confined spaces, like underground vaults, it
can be fatal if not done properly. Even if not fatal,
high-voltage electrical contact can produce devastating
physical trauma. According to the California Public Utilities
Commission, fatalities per utility are on the rise. In 2008
there were nine; in 2013 - 14; and in 2014 - 16. While not
all of these were due to high-voltage incidents in confined
spaces, if the vaults were de-energized those numbers would be
lower. It should be noted that reported incidents and
injuries per utility have also risen substantially since 2008.
Deaths related to exposure to electrical current accounts for
around 4% of all occupational fatalities. These deaths are
preventable. Incidental contact to high-voltage current by
qualified, trained workers should not be fatal. The purpose
of this legislation is to increase safety in underground
utility vaults and thereby reduce injuries and fatalities."
2)Background: Under current law, the CPUC can require every
public utility to construct, maintain, and operate their
equipment in a manner to promote and safeguard the health and
safety of its employees, passengers, customers, and the
public. In addition, CPUC Rule 20 sets policies and
procedures for the conversion of overhead power lines and
other equipment to underground facilities. Under Rule 20,
undergrounding projects are financed by utility rate money,
combined with rate funds, local tax proceeds, or private
funds.
Furthermore, CPUC General Order (GO) 128 establishes rules for
the construction of underground electric supply and
communication systems. GO 128 requires that systems be
maintained in such condition as to secure safety for workmen
and the public. In addition, according to GO 128, any work
performed on communication facilities in substructures that
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contain energized electrical facilities must be performed by
qualified personnel, under the supervision of a qualified
electrical worker. The GO defines "qualified" to mean
qualified by training and experience to be competent to work
on and recognize the hazards and exposure involved in the
lines and equipment being worked on. Yet despite these rules
to ensure safe working conditions around electrified lines in
underground vaults, there continue to be deaths each year as a
result of workers coming into contact with such lines.
This bill specifies that electrical equipment, such as
transformers and switches housed in underground facilities,
such as manholes and vaults, present an extremely hazardous
working environment if work is attempted while the equipment
is energized. The bill notes that numerous fatalities and
serious injuries have occurred while work was performed in
underground electrical facilities while the equipment was
energized. The work performed in underground electrical
facilities is done by both employees of the electrical
corporation and by employees of outside contracts. But some
of these employees do not have the technical training to know
how to de-energize the equipment, such as performing a hot
scan or gas test to determine if the equipment has been
de-energized and the confined working environment has been
made safe. The bill further specifies that only a qualified
electrical worker has the training and qualifications
necessary to ensure that an underground electrical facility
has been fully de-energized and that it is safe to proceed
with the work in the facility.
This bill requires the CPUC, by January 1, 2017, to adopt a
rule regulating work performed in underground electrical
facilities by or on behalf of an electrical corporation. The
rule shall prohibit work directly on energized underground
electrical equipment and would require a qualified electrical
worker to determine that underground electrical equipment has
been de-energized and is in a mode that would make the
equipment safe to be worked on. This would ensure that the
CPUC will have rules that will create safe working conditions
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in underground electrical utility vaults.
3)Arguments in Support: According to the California State
Association of Electrical Workers and the Coalition of
California Utility Employees, the sponsors of the bill, "there
continue to be an unsettling number of injuries and fatalities
of electrical workers in underground vaults. Within the past
three weeks alone, there have been two incidents, seriously
injuring three workers, including one fatally, while work was
being performed while the equipment was energized. [This]
legislation, which prohibits work on energized underground
electrical equipment, will greatly enhance safety in this
confined space and save many lives."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California State Association of Electrical Workers (Co-sponsors)
Coalition of California Utility Employees (Co-sponsors)
Opposition
None on file.
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Analysis Prepared by:Edmond Cheung / U. & C. / (916) 319-2083