Int. No. 2189
By Council Members Gjonaj, Yeger, Brannan, Rose, Ampry-Samuel, Vallone, Cornegy, Moya, Koo, Reynoso, Holden, Adams, Koslowitz and Ulrich
A Local Law in relation to requiring the office of long-term planning and sustainability to study underground power lines
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. a. Definitions. As used in this section the term “office” means the office of long-term planning and sustainability.
b. Within six months of the effective date of this local law, the office shall conduct a study and submit a report to the mayor and the speaker of the council on the utilization of underground power lines in the city. To the extent that the data required by this subdivision has been made available by electric corporations that provide electric service in the city, such study shall include, but need not be limited to, the following information for the most recent calendar year that such data is available, disaggregated by borough and community district, and any other areas as defined by the office:
1. The names of electric corporations that provide electric service in the city, including the number of residential customers and commercial customers serviced by underground power lines and above ground power lines by each such electric corporation, and the average cost per mile for maintenance and repair of underground power lines and above ground power lines for each such electric corporation;
2. The total number of power outages resulting from a failure of all electric utility infrastructure servicing a customer that were directly caused by damage resulting from weather events for the past ten years, including but not limited to damage resulting from: heat; cold; rain; flooding; trees; and wires downed by wind, snow or ice. The report shall provide a summary and statistical analysis of the data collected for each outage, including:
(a) The number of customers affected;
(b) The estimated number of persons affected;
(c) Critical electric utility infrastructure affected;
(d) Whether the power lines were located underground or above ground;
(e) The cause and length of time of each such outage; and
(f) The cost of restoring service;
3. The total number of power outages resulting from a failure of all electric utility infrastructure servicing a customer other than those directly caused by damage resulting from weather events, disaggregated by the cause of such outages. The report shall provide a summary and statistical analysis of the data collected for each outage, including:
(a) The number of customers affected;
(b) The estimated number of persons affected;
(c) Critical electric utility infrastructure affected;
(d) Whether the power lines were located underground or above ground;
(e) The cause and length of time of each such outage; and
(f) The cost of restoring service;
4. The estimated per mile cost of undergrounding power lines within the city, including a breakdown of the costs for labor and materials, and the variables, including population density, that would affect the final cost of undergrounding; and
5. A list of neighborhoods or service areas where relocating above ground power lines to underground locations would not be practical or would result in more severe power outages and the considerations that went into such determinations, and a list of neighborhoods or service areas where relocating above ground power lines to underground locations would be most advantageous and the considerations that went into such determinations.
§ 2. This local law takes effect immediately.
JEF
LS #16208
11/25/2020