{"data":{"id":"us-ct/conn.-gen.-stat.-16-32e","jurisdiction":"us-ct","citation":"Conn. Gen. Stat. § 16-32e","heading":"Emergency plans to be filed by public service companies, telecommunications companies, voice over Internet protocol service providers and municipal utilities. Hearings. Revisions. Staffing of electric distribution companies' emergency operations centers.","body":"(a) As used in this section, “emergency” means any (1) hurricane, tornado, storm, flood, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, drought, wildfire or fire explosion, or (2) attack or series of attacks by an enemy of the United States causing, or which may cause, substantial damage or injury to civilian property or persons in the United States in any manner by sabotage or by the use of bombs, shellfire or atomic, radiological, chemical, bacteriological or biological means or other weapons or processes.\n(b) Not later than July 1, 2012, and every two years thereafter, each public service company, as defined in section 16-1, each telecommunications company, as defined in section 16-1, that installs, maintains, operates or controls poles, wires, conduits or other fixtures under or over any public highway for the provision of telecommunications service authorized by section 16-247c, each voice over Internet protocol service provider, as defined in section 28-30b, and each municipal utility furnishing electric, gas or water service shall file with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection and each municipality located within the service area of the public service company, telecommunications company, voice over Internet protocol service provider or municipal utility an updated plan for restoring service which is interrupted as a result of an emergency, except no such plan shall be required of a public service company or municipal utility that submits a water supply plan pursuant to section 25-32d. Plans filed by public service companies and municipal utilities furnishing water shall be prepared in accordance with the memorandum of understanding entered into pursuant to section 4-67e.\n(c) (1) Each electric distribution company required to file a plan for restoring service pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall establish an emergency service restoration planning committee. Not less than fifty per cent of the members of such committee shall be line and restoration crew members employed by such company. The balance of the members appointed to such committee shall be appointed by such company. Each such emergency service restoration planning committee shall also meet not later than sixty days after the occurrence of any emergency that results in a service interruption to thirty per cent or more of the customers of such company to review and provide feedback on the application of the plan and incorporate such feedback into plans for future emergencies.\n(2) If line and restoration crew members employed by such company are members of a collective bargaining unit, the collective bargaining unit shall select the line and restoration crew members appointed to such committee. If such line and restoration crew members are not members of a collective bargaining unit, the line and crew members appointed to such committee shall be selected through a process determined by the line and crew members employed by such company.\n(3) A committee established pursuant to this subsection shall have two co-chairpersons, one of whom shall be a line and restoration crew member employed by such company elected by the members of the committee who are line and restoration crew members, and one of whom shall be elected by the members of the committee who are not line and restoration crew members.\n(4) A committee established pursuant to this subsection shall make a written meeting summary of each meeting and make such summaries available to any employee of such company upon request and submit such summaries to the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection upon request. A majority of the members of the committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of committee business. Decisions of the committee shall be made by majority vote of the members present at any meeting.\n(d) Each such plan for restoring service which is interrupted as a result of an emergency shall include measures for (1) communication and coordination with state officials, municipalities and other public service companies and telecommunications companies during a major disaster, as defined in section 28-1, or an emergency; (2) participation in training exercises as directed by the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection; (3) measures to protect the health and safety of line and restoration crews during an emergency and during the restoration of service, including the provision of appropriate personal protective equipment and any such measures that are contained in a collective bargaining agreement or other health and safety policies applicable to such crews; and (4) referencing any applicable documents, including collective bargaining agreements in effect that describe any training and skills job progression plan, or other comparable documents, for line and restoration workers. If line and restoration crew members are members of a collective bargaining unit, such training and skills job progression plans, or other comparable documents, shall be jointly developed by the company and such collective bargaining unit. Each such plan shall include such company's, provider's or municipal utility's response for service outages affecting more than ten per cent, thirty per cent, fifty per cent and seventy per cent of such company's, provider's or municipal utility's customers. On or before September 1, 2012, and biannually thereafter, the authority shall submit a report, in accordance with section 11-4a, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public utilities summarizing such plans. Not later than September 15, 2012, and every two years thereafter, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority may conduct public hearings on such plans and, in consultation with the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, the Department of Public Health and the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public utilities, revise such plans to the extent necessary to provide properly for the public convenience, necessity and welfare. If the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority revises the emergency plan of a public service company, telecommunications company, voice over Internet protocol service provider or municipal utility, such company, provider or municipal utility shall file a copy of the revised plan with each municipality located within the service area of the company, provider or municipal utility. Any information provided in any such plan shall be considered confidential, not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, as defined in section 1-200, and any such information shall not be transmitted to any person except as needed to comply with this section.\n(e) At the discretion of the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection or after an emergency or major disaster is declared in the state by the Governor under the laws of this state or by the President of the United States under federal law, each telephone company, certified telecommunications provider, holder of a certificate of video franchise authority or holder of a certificate of cable franchise authority, as those terms are defined in section 16-1, with more than twenty-five thousand subscribers, shall provide a representative to staff the emergency operations center of an affected electric distribution company, as defined in section 16-1, as needed to ensure communication and coordination during emergency response and restoration efforts.","path":["TITLE 16. PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANIES","CHAPTER 277. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. PUBLIC UTILITIES REGULATORY AUTHORITY. OFFICE OF CONSUMER COUNSEL. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS"],"source_url":"https://www.cga.ct.gov/2026/sup/chap_277.htm#sec_16-32e","current_through":"Revised to January 1, 2026 (2026 Supplement to the General Statutes of Connecticut, applied over the base revision of January 1, 2025)","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-06T19:07:22Z","sha256":"9d82b99bd8b2112002ac87f89b724a54b04dc7a91c47d2a8051d50d52586d4e7","source_id":"us-ct","stale":false,"prev":"us-ct/conn.-gen.-stat.-16-32d","next":"us-ct/conn.-gen.-stat.-16-32f"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}