Original 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.

Strikeout and Underlined Version

Rule 18

18    Reporting and Resolution of Safety Hazards Discovered by Utilities

A.    Resolution of Safety Hazards And General Order 95 ViolationsNonconformances

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 inSouthern 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 human 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 Imperial, Los Angeles,Orange, and San Riverside,Santa Barbara,San Bernardino,San Diego, and Ventura 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 “Extreme and Very High Fire Threat Zones” are defined on the Fire and Resource Assessment Program (FRAP) Map prepared by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection or the modified FRAP Map prepared by San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) and adopted by Decision 12-02-032 in Phase 2 of Rulemaking 08-11-005.  All entities subject to Rule 18 shall use the FRAP Map to implement Rule 18, except that SDG&E may use its modified FRAP Map to implement Rule 18.

(1)    a)    Each company (including utilities and CIPs) is responsible for taking appropriate corrective action to remedy Safety Hazards and GO 95 nonconformances posed by its facilities.

b)    Upon completion of the corrective action, the company’s records shall show, with sufficient detail, the nature of the work, the date, and the identity of persons performing the work.  These records shall be preserved by the company for at least ten (10) years and shall be made available to Commission staff upon 30 days notice.

c)    Where a communications company’s or an electric utility’ actions result in GO nonconformances for another entity, that entity’s remedial action will be to transmit a single documented notice of identified nonconformances to the communications company or electric utility for compliance.

(2)    a)    All companies shall establish an auditable maintenance program for their facilities and lines. Further, all All companies must include a timeline for corrective actions to be taken following the identification of a safety hazard or violation of General Orders Safety Hazard or nonconformances with General Order 95 or 128 on the companies’ company’s facilities.

The auditable maintenance program should be developed and implemented shall prioritize corrective actions consistent with the priority levels set forth below and based on the following principles. factors, as appropriate: 

• (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:
• Safety and reliability as specified in the priority levels below;
• Type of facility or equipment;
• Location;, including whether the Safety Hazard or nonconformance is located in an Extreme or Very High Fire Threat Zone inSouthern California;
• Accessibility;
• Climate;
• Direct or potential impact on operations, customers, electrical company workers, communications workers, and the general public;.
• Whether the safety hazard or violation is located in an Extreme or Very High Fire Threat zone.

There will shall be three3 priority levels, as follows:.

(a(i)     Level 1:

• Immediatesafety 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(ii)    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 for correction to be determinedat the pointtime 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, but not to transmit a single documented notice of identified violations to the communications companyexceed:  (1) 12 months for compliance.
  (c)   Level nonconformances that compromise worker safety, (2) 12 months for nonconformances that create a fire risk and are located in an Extreme or Very High Fire Threat Zone inSouthern California, and (3:) 59 months for all other Level 2 nonconformances.  

(iii)    Level 3:

• Acceptable safety and/or reliability risk.
• Take action (re-inspect, re-evaluate, or repair) at or before the next detailed inspection. as appropriate. 

d)    Exceptions (Levels 2 and 3 only) –

b)    Correctiontimes may be extended under reasonable circumstances, such as:

• Third party refusal
• 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 ofSouthern 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.

(3)    Companies that have existing General Order 165 auditable inspection and maintenance programs that are consistent with the purpose of Rule 18A shall continue to follow their General Order 165 programs.

B.    Notification of Safety Hazards

If a company, while inspecting performing inspections of its facilities, discovers a safety hazard(s) on or near a communications facility,  or electric transmission or distribution facility involving another company, the inspecting company shall notify the other company and/or facility owner of such safety hazard(s) 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 inSouthern California. To the extent the inspecting company cannot determine the facility 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.(s), normally not to exceed five business days after being notified of the safety hazard.  The notification shall be in writing anddocumented and such documentation must be preserved by all parties for at least fiveten years. It is the responsibility of each pole owner to know the identity of each entity using or maintaining equipment on its pole.

Note:    Each pole owner must be able to determine all other pole owners on poles it owns.  Each pole owner must be able to determine all authorized entities that attach equipment on its portion of a pole.

Final Version

Rule 18

18    Reporting and Resolution of Safety Hazards Discovered by Utilities

A.    Resolution of Safety Hazards And General Order 95 Nonconformances

For purposes of this rule, “Safety Hazard” means a condition that poses a significant threat to human life or property.

“Southern California” is defined as the following: Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura Counties.

“Extreme and Very High Fire Threat Zones” are defined on the Fire and Resource Assessment Program (FRAP) Map prepared by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection or the modified FRAP Map prepared by San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) and adopted by Decision 12-02-032 in Phase 2 of Rulemaking 08-11-005.  All entities subject to Rule 18 shall use the FRAP Map to implement Rule 18, except that SDG&E may use its modified FRAP Map to implement Rule 18.

(1)    a)    Each company (including utilities and CIPs) is responsible for taking appropriate corrective action to remedy Safety Hazards and GO 95 nonconformances posed by its facilities.

b)    Upon completion of the corrective action, the company’s records shall show, with sufficient detail, the nature of the work, the date, and the identity of persons performing the work.  These records shall be preserved by the company for at least ten (10) years and shall be made available to Commission staff upon 30 days notice.

c)    Where a communications company’s or an electric utility’ actions result in GO nonconformances for another entity, that entity’s remedial action will be to transmit a single documented notice of identified nonconformances to the communications company or electric utility for compliance.

(2)    a)    All companies shall establish an auditable maintenance program for their facilities and lines. All companies must include a timeline for corrective actions to be taken following the identification of a Safety Hazard or nonconformances with General Order 95 on the company’s facilities.

The auditable maintenance program shall prioritize corrective actions consistent with the priority levels set forth below and based on the following factors, as appropriate: 

• Safety and reliability as specified in the priority levels below;
• Type of facility or equipment;
• Location, including whether the Safety Hazard or nonconformance is located in an Extreme or Very High Fire Threat Zone in Southern California;
• Accessibility;
• Climate;
• Direct or potential impact on operations, customers, electrical company workers, communications workers, and the general public.

There shall be3 priority levels.

(i)    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.

(ii)    Level 2:

• Variable(non-immediate high to low) safety and/or reliability risk.
• Take action to correct within specified time period (fully repair, or by temporarily repairing and reclassifying the condition to a lower priority).
  Time period for correction to be determined at the time of identification by a qualified company representative but not to exceed:  (1) 12 months for nonconformances that compromise worker safety, (2) 12 months for nonconformances that create a fire risk and are located in an Extreme or Very High Fire Threat Zone in Southern California, and (3) 59 months for all other Level 2 nonconformances.  

(iii)    Level 3:

• Acceptable safety and/or reliability risk.
• Take action (re-inspect, re-evaluate, or repair) as appropriate. 

b)    Correction times may be extended under reasonable circumstances, such as:

• Third party refusal
• Customer issue
• No access
• Permits required
• System emergencies (e.g.  fires, severe weather conditions)

(3)    Companies that have existing General Order 165 auditable inspection and maintenance programs that are consistent with the purpose of Rule 18A shall continue to follow their General Order 165 programs.

B.    Notification of Safety Hazards

If a company, while performing inspections of its facilities, discovers a safety hazard(s) on or near a communications facility or electric facility involving another company, the inspecting company shall notify the other company and/or facility owner of such safety hazard(s) no later than 10 business days after the discovery.  To the extent the inspecting company cannot determine the facility owner/operator , it shall contact the pole owner(s), who shall be responsible for promptly notifying the company owning/operating the facility with the safety hazard(s), normally not to exceed five business days after being notified of the safety hazard.  The notification shall bedocumented and such documentation must be preserved by all parties for at least ten years.

Note:    Each pole owner must be able to determine all other pole owners on poles it owns.  Each pole owner must be able to determine all authorized entities that attach equipment on its portion of a pole.