DL: 01713234
REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE
The text of the rule is included as Attachment A1.
B.
PLAIN LANGUAGE ANALYSIS 1. Statutory Authority and Explanation of Authority
Wisconsin Stat. § 227.11(2) authorizes agencies to promulgate administrative rules. Wisconsin Stat. § 196.02(1) authorizes the Commission to do all things necessary and convenient to its jurisdiction. Wisconsin Stat. § 196.02(3) grants the Commission specific authority to promulgate rules. Wisconsin Stat. § 196.74 authorizes the Commission to promulgate rules that promote public safety by requiring the construction and operation of electric wires and equipment to be safe. In relevant part, Wis. Stat. § 196.74 states that “[e]ach public utility and railroad which owns, operates, manages or controls along or across any public or private way any wires over which electricity or messages are transmitted shall construct, operate and maintain the wires and any related equipment in a manner which is reasonably adequate and safe and which does not unreasonably interfere with the service furnished by any other public utility or railroad. The Commission may issue orders or rules, after hearing, requiring electric construction and operating of such wires and equipment to be safe. The Commission may revise the orders or rules as may be required to promote public safety . . . .” Statutes Interpreted
Related Statutes or Rules
Wisconsin Admin. Code ch. SPS 316, which is Volume 2 of the Wisconsin State Electrical Code (WSEC). 2. Brief Summary of Proposed Rules
Volume 1 of the WSEC, codified in Wis. Admin. Code ch. PSC 114, is administered by the Commission. It deals with safety requirements for the installation, operation, and maintenance of primarily outdoor electric supply and communications lines and facilities used by utilities, including electric and telecommunications suppliers, railroads, and cable television providers. Wisconsin Admin. Code ch. PSC 114 has been, and is, based on the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC). The NESC is revised and updated every five years requiring subsequent periodic revision of WSEC, Volume 1, to adopt the latest national standard. In 1979, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1991, 1994, 1997, 2003, 2008, and 2014, the Commission adopted the 1977, 1981, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2002, 2007, and 2012 editions of the NESC, respectively, with certain changes, deletions, and additions which apply in Wisconsin only and are contained in Wis. Admin. Code ch. PSC 114. The 2017 edition of the NESC was issued in August 2016. A corresponding revision of Wis. Admin. Code ch. PSC 114 is necessary to implement the latest edition of the national code and make any other necessary changes to update and improve the code. A technical advisory committee was appointed and met to recommend and discuss the rule changes. Commission staff and members of the technical advisory recommended changes to Wis. Admin. Code ch. PSC 114.
The majority of the recommended changes to Wis. Admin. Code ch. PSC 114 either update the NESC reference titles and page numbers or provide minor clarifications to the existing rules based on the NESC-2017 edition. In addition, the NESC incorporated several revisions from the current Wis. Admin. Code ch. PSC 114 into the NESC-2017 edition; therefore, several revisions were no longer necessary and were repealed from Wis. Admin. Code ch. PSC 114. The substantive changes to Wis. Admin. Code ch. PSC 114 are summarized as follows: The creation of Wis. Admin. Code § PSC 114.114, relating to fire-extinguishing equipment, maintains a rule that was omitted in the NESC-2017 edition. This rule will eliminate confusion about whether fire-extinguishing equipment is required in unmanned stations. The creation of Wis. Admin. Code § PSC 114.231 adds clarity to NESC Rule 231B1, relating to the “sufficient distance” of poles from curbs. Since 1977, the NESC has required that poles be at least six inches behind the face of the curb. This requirement was omitted in the NESC-2017 edition. This rule maintains this requirement. The creation of Wis. Admin. Code §§ PSC 114.234 (12) and (13) adds the newly created NESC-2017 Table 234-6 and associated Footnote 3. 3.
Comparison with Existing or Proposed Federal Regulations The NESC, which is incorporated by reference in Wis. Admin. Code ch. PSC 114, covers provisions for safeguarding of persons from hazards arising from installation, operation, or maintenance of conductors and equipment in electric supply stations, and overhead and underground electric supply and communication lines. The national standard is applicable to systems and equipment owned by utilities. 4.
Comparison with Similar Rules in Adjacent States This rulemaking adopts certain portions of the latest edition of the NESC. Minnesota automatically adopts each new NESC edition by reference. Michigan does not specifically adopt the NESC, but effectively does so by referencing it as “standards of good practice.” Iowa adopts all but Part 4, and Illinois adopts sections of Part 1 and Parts 2 and 3.
5.
Summary of Factual Data and Analytical Methodologies Used Wisconsin Admin. Code ch. PSC 114 has been, and is, based on the NESC. The NESC is revised and updated every five years requiring subsequent periodic revision of WSEC, Volume 1, to adopt the latest national standard. The 2017 edition of the NESC was issued in August 2016. A corresponding revision of Wis. Admin. Code ch. PSC 114 is necessary to implement the latest edition of the national code and make any other necessary changes to update and improve the code. A technical advisory committee was appointed and met to recommend and discuss the rule changes. Commission staff and members of the technical advisory recommended changes to Wis. Admin. Code ch. PSC 114.
6.
Effect on Small Business This rule will not affect small business. The Wis. Stat. § 227.114(1) definition of “small business” states that to be considered a small business, the business must not be dominant in its field. This rule affects electric utilities. Electric utilities are monopolies in their service territories. This makes an electric utility dominant in its field, and therefore not small business. Questions regarding this matter should be directed to the docket coordinator, Mohammed Monawer, at (608) 266-3900, or Mohammed.Monawer@wisconsin.gov. Small business questions should be directed to Kristy Nieto at (608) 261-9419. Media questions should be directed to the Communications Director, Matthew Sweeney at (608) 267-1262. The Commission does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the provision of programs, services, or employment. Any person with a disability who needs to receive this document in a different format should contact the docket coordinator, as indicated in the following paragraph, as soon as possible.
C.
FISCAL ESTIMATE AND ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS The Fiscal Estimate and Economic Impact Analysis for this rulemaking is included as Attachment A3.
D.
BASIS AND PURPOSE OF RULES Volume 1 of the WSEC, codified in Wis. Admin. Code ch. PSC 114, is administered by the Commission. It deals with safety requirements for the installation, operation, and maintenance of primarily outdoor electric supply and communications lines and facilities used by utilities, including electric and telecommunications suppliers, railroads, and cable television providers. Wisconsin Admin. Code ch. PSC 114 has been, and is, based on the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC). The NESC is revised and updated every five years requiring subsequent periodic revision of WSEC, Volume 1, to adopt the latest national standard. In 1979, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1991, 1994, 1997, 2003, 2008, and 2014, the Commission adopted the 1977, 1981, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2002, 2007, and 2012 editions of the NESC, respectively, with certain changes, deletions, and additions which apply in Wisconsin only and are contained in Wis. Admin. Code ch. PSC 114. The 2017 edition of the NESC was issued in August 2016. A corresponding revision of Wis. Admin. Code ch. PSC 114 is necessary to implement the latest edition of the national code and make any other necessary changes to update and improve the code. E.
SUMMARY OF PUBLIC COMMENTS AND COMMISSION RESPONSES The Commission received one public comment in this docket.
On behalf of the Wisconsin Utilities Association, Paul Deloria (Wisconsin Public Service Corporation) informed the Commission of an incorrect reference to the current NESC in Wis.
The Commission has rewritten Wis. Admin. Code § PSC 114.253 to incorporate the correct reference to the current NESC. F.
APPEARANCES AT PUBLIC HEARING None.
G.
ANY CHANGES TO THE FISCAL ESTIMATE OR THE ANALYSIS UNDER There are no changes to the fiscal estimate or analysis; however, the contact name and phone number has been updated.
H.
RESPONSE TO LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL COMMENTS A copy of the Legislative Council report is included as Attachment A2. Response to those comments follow:
2. Form, Style and Placement in Administrative Code
a. Disagree. The Commission finds it appropriate to repeal and recreate these three sections as each contained extensive changes. Additionally, reusing existing section numbers is appropriate as these section numbers correspond to relevant sections of the NESC. In previous rulemakings that adopted the NESC, the Commission repealed and recreated the entire Wis. Admin. Code ch. PSC 114. Here, the Commission chose to only repeal and recreate three sections where it made sense to do so.
b. Agree. Change made.
c. Agree. Change made.
I. MISCELLANEOUS DETERMINATIONS
The Commission’s Wisconsin Environmental Policy Act coordinator examined whether the rules will have an environmental impact and concluded that they will not. Commission staff considered whether the rules will impact housing under s. 227.115, Stats., and concluded that they will not. Docket 1-AC-250 Attachment A1
TEXT OF FINAL RULE
SECTION 1. PSC 114.001 (3) is amended to read:
(3) AVAILABILITY OF STATE ELECTRICAL CODE. The commission has adopted the 2012 2017 edition of the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC-2012 NESC-2017) with certain deletions, changes and additions which are found in Volume 1, Wisconsin State Electrical Code. Copies of the NESC may be purchased from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., IEEE Service Center, 445 Hoes Lane, P.O. Box 1331, Piscataway, NJ 08855-1331 (telephone 1-
800-678-IEEE) or the American National Standards Institute, 1430 Broadway, New York, NY
10018 (telephone 212/642-4900). Copies of the NESC may be ordered online at http://standards.ieee.org/nesc. Copies of Volume 1, Wisconsin State Electrical Code, may be ordered from the Wisconsin Department of Administration, Document Sales, 202 S. Thornton Avenue, Madison, WI 53702 (telephone 608/266-3358). Unofficial copies of the rules can be obtained online at http://docs.legis.wi.gov/code/admin_code/psc/114/.
SECTION 2. PSC 114.002 (2) (d) is amended to read:
(d) This chapter does not apply to installations in mines, ships, railway rolling equipment, aircraft or automotive equipment, or utilization wiring except as covered in Parts 1 and 3, NESC2012 NESC-2017.
SECTION 3. PSC 114.006 (1) and (2) are amended to read:
(1)
ADOPTION OF STANDARD. The National Electrical Safety Code-2012 Code-2017 edition (also American National Standards Institute C2-2012 C2-2017 edition) subject to omissions, changes and additions as otherwise shown in this chapter, is hereby incorporated by reference into the Wisconsin State Electrical Code, Volume 1. Interim amendments to the NESC-2012 NESC-2017 will not be effective in this state until such time as this chapter is revised to reflect such changes. (2)
CONSENT TO INCORPORATE NESC-2012 NESC-2017 BY REFERENCE. Pursuant to s. 227.21, Stats., the attorney general has consented to the incorporation by reference of these standards contained in the NESC-2012 NESC-2017, except for the omissions, changes and additions as shown later in this chapter. Copies of the NESC-2012 NESC-2017 are on file in the offices of the commission and the legislative reference bureau.
