(a) Each utility shall use all reasonable means within industry practices to avoid interruptions to service, including:
- (1) Maintaining appropriate levels of maintenance;
- (2) Planning for unexpected events; and
(3) Considering in decisions affecting potential interruptions to service:
- a. The potential safety, reliability, cost, and delay issues; and
- b. The manner that best accommodates the public.
- (b) If an interruption to service occurs, the utility shall restore service within the shortest time reasonable, consistent with safety, and provide service on a 24-hour basis.
(c) Each utility shall maintain a record, as required in (d) below, when an interruption to service of more than a 5-minute duration occurs affecting:
- (1) An entire substation; or
- (2) The entire distribution circuit of a substation.
(d) When an interruption to service occurs as described in (c) above, a utility shall:
- (1) Keep a record of the circumstances of the interruption; and
- (2) Report the interruption to the department on Form E-2, pursuant to En 308.02.
- (e) When service is interrupted to perform work on lines or equipment, the utility shall conduct such work at a time causing minimum inconvenience to customers consistent with the circumstances.
- (f) A utility shall attempt to notify all affected customers in advance of all planned interruptions to service.
- (g) When a utility has actual notice of customers known by the utility who would encounter a potentially life-threatening situation as a result of a planned service interruption, the utility shall provide actual notice to those customers of planned service interruptions.
(h) A potentially life-threatening situation, for purposes of (g) above, shall mean a situation where:
- (1) A customer relies upon life support equipment; or
- (2) Any other potentially life-threatening medical condition exists.
- (i) A utility shall be permitted to require the customer to document the potentially life-threatening situation and to request such documentation be updated on an annual basis.
(j) A utility shall interrupt or curtail electric service or vary the characteristics thereof under the following circumstances:
- (1) When necessary to prevent injury to persons or damage to property;
- (2) When directed or requested to do so by police, fire, or other public safety officials;
- (3) When required by conditions occurring in the interconnected transmission grid connected to its facilities, to effect temporary load reduction for the common good; or
- (4) With notice to the customers or group of customers and the department pursuant to En 1203.11, to prevent a single customer or group of customers from causing continuing adverse effects to the electricity supply of another customer or group of customers.
Source. #14101, eff 10-22-24, EXPIRES: 10-22-34 (see Revision Note at chapter heading for En 300)