Original Version
Rule 18

18    New Rule

Strikeout and Underline Version

Rule 18

18    Reporting and Resolution of Safety Hazards Discovered by Utilities

A.    Resolution of Safety Hazards And General Order 95 Violations

Each company (including utilities and CIPs) is responsible for taking appropriate corrective action to remedy safety hazards and GO 95 violations posed by their facility. Upon completion of the corrective action, the company records shall show the nature of the work, the date and identity of persons performing the work. Prior to the work being completed, the company shall document the current status of the safety hazard, including whether the safety hazard is located in an Extreme and Very High Fire Threat Zone in Southern California, and shall include a scheduled date of corrective action. These records shall be preserved by the company for at least five years, and shall be of sufficient detail to allow Commission staff during an audit, if any, to determine that the safety hazard has been remedied. The records shall be made available to Commission staff immediately upon request. Additionally, for any work completed after the initial scheduled date of corrective action, the company shall document the reason or reasons that the work was not completed by the original scheduled date of corrective action.

For purposes of this rule, “safety hazard” means a condition that poses a significant threat to life or property, including, but not limited to, the ignition of a wildland or structure fire. “Extreme and Very High Fire Threat Zones” are defined in the Commission decision issued in Phase I of R.08-11-005. “Southern California” is defined as the following: Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego Counties.

Companies that have existing General Order 165 auditable inspection and maintenance programs that are consistent with the purpose of Rule 18 shall continue to follow their General Order 165 programs. All companies shall establish an auditable maintenance program for their facilities and lines. Further, all companies must include a timeline for corrective actions to be taken following the identification of a safety hazard or violation of General Orders 95 or 128 on the companies’ facilities.

The auditable maintenance program should be developed and implemented based on the following principles.

(1)    Priorities shall be assigned based on the specifics of the safety hazard or violation as related to direct impact and the probability for impact on safety or reliability using the following factors:

*    Type of facility or equipment;

*    Location;

*    Accessibility;

*    Climate;

*    Direct or potential impact on operations, customers, electrical company workers, communications workers, and the general public;

*    Whether the safetyhazard or violation is located in an Extreme or Very High Fire Threat zone.

(2)    There will be three priority levels, as follows:

a)    Level 1:

•    Immediate safety and/or reliability risk with high probability for significant impact.

•    Take actionimmediately, either by fully repairing the condition, or by temporarily repairing and reclassifying the condition to a lower priority.

b)    Level 2:

•    Variable(non-immediate high to low) safety and/or reliability risk.

•    Take action tocorrect within specified time period (fully repair, or by temporarily repairing and reclassifying the condition to a lower priority).

•    Time period forcorrection to be determined at the point of identification by a qualified company representative:

*    Overhead: 0-59 months

•    Where communications company actions result in electric utility GO violations, the electric utility’s remedial action will be to transmit a single documented notice of identified violations to the communications company for compliance.

c)   Level 3:

•    Acceptable safetyand/or reliability risk.

•    Take action(re-inspect, re-evaluate, or repair) at or before the next detailed inspection.

d)   Exceptions (Levels 2 and 3 only) –Correction times may be extended under reasonable circumstances, such as:

•    Third partyrefusal

•    Customer issue

•    No access

•    Permits required

•    System emergencies(e.g. fires, severe weather conditions)

(3)    Upon completion of the corrective action, the company’s records shall show the nature of the work, the date, and the identity of persons performing the work. These records should be preserved by the company for at least five years.

(4)    The company shall prioritize implementing this maintenance plan within the Extreme and Very High Fire Threat Zones of Southern California. With the exception of a safety hazard or violation requiring immediate correction, a company must correct a violation or safety hazard within 30 days of discovering or being notified of a violation or safety hazard, if the violation or safety hazard violates a clearance requirement listed in columns E, F, or G of Table 1 in this General Order, or violates a pole overloading requirement in Rule 44.3 of this General Order, and is located in an Extreme and Very High Fire Threat Zone in Southern California. The company must correct a violation or safety hazard within 30 days if the utility is notified that the violation must be corrected to alleviate a significant safety risk to any utility’s employees.

B.    Notification of Safety Hazards

If a company, while inspecting its facilities, discovers a safety hazard on or near a communications facility, electric transmission or distribution facility involving another company, the inspecting company shall notify the other company and/or facility owner of such safety hazard no later than 10 business days after the discovery. The inspecting company shall also provide a copy of the notice to the pole owner(s). The inspecting company shall include in such notice whether the safety hazard which requires corrective action is located in a designated Extreme and Very High Fire Threat Zone in Southern California. To the extent the inspecting company cannot determine the owner/operator of other company, it shall contact the pole owner(s), who shall be responsible for promptly notifying the company owning/operating the facility with the safety hazard. The notification shall be in writing and must be preserved by all parties for at least five years. It is the responsibility of each pole owner to know the identity of each entity using or maintaining equipment on its pole.

Final Version

Rule 18

18    Reporting and Resolution of Safety Hazards Discovered by Utilities

A.    Resolution of Safety Hazards And General Order 95 Violations

Each company (including utilities and CIPs) is responsible for taking appropriate corrective action to remedy safety hazards and GO 95 violations posed by their facility. Upon completion of the corrective action, the company records shall show the nature of the work, the date and identity of persons performing the work. Prior to the work being completed, the company shall document the current status of the safety hazard, including whether the safety hazard is located in an Extreme and Very High Fire Threat Zone in Southern California, and shall include a scheduled date of corrective action. These records shall be preserved by the company for at least five years, and shall be of sufficient detail to allow Commission staff during an audit, if any, to determine that the safety hazard has been remedied. The records shall be made available to Commission staff immediately upon request. Additionally, for any work completed after the initial scheduled date of corrective action, the company shall document the reason or reasons that the work was not completed by the original scheduled date of corrective action.

For purposes of this rule, “safety hazard” means a condition that poses a significant threat to life or property, including, but not limited to, the ignition of a wildland or structure fire. “Extreme and Very High Fire Threat Zones” are defined in the Commission decision issued in Phase I of R.08-11-005. “Southern California” is defined as the following: Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego Counties.

Companies that have existing General Order 165 auditable inspection and maintenance programs that are consistent with the purpose of Rule 18 shall continue to follow their General Order 165 programs. All companies shall establish an auditable maintenance program for their facilities and lines. Further, all companies must include a timeline for corrective actions to be taken following the identification of a safety hazard or violation of General Orders 95 or 128 on the companies’ facilities.

The auditable maintenance program should be developed and implemented based on the following principles.

(1)    Priorities shall be assigned based on thespecifics of the safety hazard or violation as related to direct impact and the probability for impact on safety or reliability using the following factors:

*    Type of facility or equipment;

*    Location;

*    Accessibility;

*    Climate;

*    Direct or potential impact on operations, customers, electrical company workers, communications workers, and the general public;

*    Whether the safetyhazard or violation is located in an Extreme or Very High Fire Threat zone.

(2)    There will be three priority levels, as follows:

a)    Level 1:

•    Immediate safety and/or reliability risk with high probability for significant impact.

•    Take action immediately, either by fully repairing the condition, or by temporarily repairing and reclassifying the condition to a lower priority.

b)    Level 2:

•    Variable(non-immediate high to low) safety and/or reliability risk.

•    Take action tocorrect within specified time period (fully repair, or by temporarily repairing and reclassifying the condition to a lower priority).

•    Time period forcorrection to be determined at the point of identification by a qualified company representative:

*    Overhead: 0-59 months

•    Wherecommunications company actions result in electric utility GO violations, the electric utility’s remedial action will be to transmit a single documented notice of identified violations to the communications company for compliance.

c)   Level 3:

•    Acceptable safetyand/or reliability risk.

•    Take action(re-inspect, re-evaluate, or repair) at or before the next detailed inspection.

d)   Exceptions (Levels 2 and 3 only) –Correction times may be extended under reasonable circumstances, such as:

•    Third partyrefusal

•    Customer issue

•    No access

•    Permits required

•    System emergencies(e.g. fires, severe weather conditions)

(3)    Upon completion of the corrective action, the company’s records shall show the nature of the work, the date, and the identity of persons performing the work. These records should be preserved by the company for at least five years.

(4)    The company shall prioritize implementing this maintenance plan within the Extreme and Very High Fire Threat Zones of Southern California. With the exception of a safety hazard or violation requiring immediate correction, a company must correct a violation or safety hazard within 30 days of discovering or being notified of a violation or safety hazard, if the violation or safety hazard violates a clearance requirement listed in columns E, F, or G of Table 1 in this General Order, or violates a pole overloading requirement in Rule 44.3 of this General Order, and is located in an Extreme and Very High Fire Threat Zone in Southern California. The company must correct a violation or safety hazard within 30 days if the utility is notified that the violation must be corrected to alleviate a significant safety risk to any utility’s employees.

B.    Notification of Safety Hazards

If a company, while inspecting its facilities, discovers a safety hazard on or near a communications facility, electric transmission or distribution facility involving another company, the inspecting company shall notify the other company and/or facility owner of such safety hazard no later than 10 business days after the discovery. The inspecting company shall also provide a copy of the notice to the pole owner(s). The inspecting company shall include in such notice whether the safety hazard which requires corrective action is located in a designated Extreme and Very High Fire Threat Zone in Southern California. To the extent the inspecting company cannot determine the owner/operator of other company, it shall contact the pole owner(s), who shall be responsible for promptly notifying the company owning/operating the facility with the safety hazard. The notification shall be in writing and must be preserved by all parties for at least five years. It is the responsibility of each pole owner to know the identity of each entity using or maintaining equipment on its pole.