BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1453 Page 1 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. AB 1453 Page 2 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. AB 1453 Page 3 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 AB 1453 Page 4 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 AB 1453 Page 5 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. AB 1453 Page 6 Analysis Prepared by:Edmond Cheung / U. & C. / (916) 319-2083