The Public Commission of Texas approved a requirement that electric utilities delivering power to retail electric customers maintain an online electric outage tracker in English and Spanish with detailed information.
“When severe weather or any other threat to electric service hits, providing timely, accurate information to consumers is essential,” PUCT Chairman Thomas Gleeson said. “Texans must be well-informed to stay safe, and information on these outage trackers can be critical for them. Requiring that these trackers are always available online means consumers can always access this potentially lifesaving information.”
The rule requires utilities that provide distribution service to retail electricity customers to maintain accurate and publicly available outage trackers or maps on their website. The tracker or map must contain the following information in English and Spanish. This must include a map of the utility’s distribution service territory, the location of the outage, the date and time of the outage, estimated restoration time, the status of the restoration effort and the date and time the information was updated.
There must also be information about how a customer can report an outage or hazardous condition and information on how to receive updates.
If an outage tracker or map is scheduled to be offline or unavailable for maintenance or upgrades, the utility must post the details of the scheduled activity on its website and provide notice to the PUCT. If the tracker or map unexpectedly becomes unavailable, the utility must notify the Commission in writing.
The rule does not apply to municipally owned utilities or electric cooperatives.
Utilities must comply with these requirements immediately upon the effective date of the rule. However, if a utility needs time to upgrade its tracker or map to comply with the rule, it may file an update with the PUCT. The filing must identify which requirements are not being met and provide a projected compliance date, which can be no later than June 1, 2025.
Utilities that violate this rule could face penalties up to $25,000 per day, per violation, in accordance with Chapter §25.8 of the PUCT’s rules.
