HB 5472

General Assembly  Substitute Bill No. 5472
  February Session, 2026
 AN ACT CONCERNING THE SAFETY OF ENERGY GENERATION
 SOURCES AND ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS.
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
 Assembly convened:
1Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) (a) As used in this section:
2(1) "Major incident" means any event at a facility described in
3    subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 16-50i of the general statutes
4    that (A) requires an emergency shutoff of electricity flowing to or from
5    such facility due to a hazardous condition at such facility, (B) requires
6    any local emergency services personnel to respond to the site of such
7    facility, or (C) causes injury requiring hospitalization to any person; and
8      (2) "Minor incident" means any unanticipated or unplanned
9   shutdown of a facility described in subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of
10   section 16-50i of the general statutes that does not require any local
11   emergency services personnel to respond to the site of such facility.
12   "Minor incident" does not include the shutdown of such facility in
13   connection with scheduled or routine maintenance.
14      (b) Any person who receives a certificate from the Connecticut Siting
15   Council to operate a facility described in subdivision (3) of subsection
16   (a) of section 16-50i of the general statutes shall report any major
17   incident or minor incident at such facility in a form and manner
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18 prescribed by the council. Any major incident shall be reported not later
19 than five days after the occurrence of such incident, and any minor
20 incident shall be reported not later than thirty days after the occurrence
21 of such incident.
22    (c) Commencing on July 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, the
23 Connecticut Siting Council shall submit a report, in accordance with the
24 provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, detailing any reports
25 the council has received pursuant to this section in the preceding year
26 to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having
27 cognizance of matters relating to energy and technology.
28   Sec. 2. Section 16-50l of the 2026 supplement to the general statutes is
29 amended by adding subsections (i) and (j) as follows (Effective October 1,
30 2026):
31    (NEW) (i) In addition to the requirements of this section, the council
32 may, in the council's discretion, require that, as a condition of approval
33 for any facility described in subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section
34 16-50i, the applicant provide emergency services training specific to the
35 proposed facility, at the applicant's sole expense, to firefighters or other
36 emergency services personnel in any municipality in which such facility
37 shall be located. If the council imposes such a condition pursuant to this
38 subsection, the applicant shall provide notice of the availability of such
39 training to the chief executive officer and fire marshal of any
40 municipality in which such facility shall be located, as ordered by the
41 council. The chief executive officer or fire marshal shall respond in
42 writing to such notice not later than sixty days after the receipt of such
43 notice and indicate whether firefighters or other emergency services
44 personnel in the municipality request such training. If such training is
45 so requested, the applicant will arrange for such training to be provided
46 not later than sixty days after such request.
47   (NEW) (j) (1) For the purposes of this subsection, "emergency contact
48 person" means a person, including an entity or an organization,
49 designated by an applicant or certificate holder pursuant to this section,
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50 who has authority to act on behalf of the applicant or certificate holder
51 in the event of an emergency at a facility described in subdivision (3) of
52 subsection (a) of section 16-50i. As a condition of approval under this
53 section, an applicant shall (A) designate an emergency contact person
54 for such facility, (B) provide the contact information for such emergency
55 contact person to the council and both the chief executive officer and the
56 local fire official of any municipality in which such facility is located,
57 and (C) post a sign at each entrance to such facility displaying the
58 contact information for such emergency contact person.
59    (2) Not later than January 1, 2027, any certificate holder that owns or
60 operates a facility described in subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of
61 section 16-50i shall (A) designate an emergency contact person, (B)
62 provide the contact information for such emergency contact person, in
63 writing, to the council and both the chief executive officer and the local
64 fire official of any municipality in which such facility is located, and (C)
65 post a sign at each entrance to the facility displaying the contact
66 information for such emergency contact person.
67    (3) If the person, entity or organization designated as the emergency
68 contact person pursuant to this subsection has changed, or the contact
69 information for such emergency contact person has changed, the
70 applicant or certificate holder shall, not later than thirty days after such
71 change, (A) provide written notice of such change to the council and
72 both the chief executive officer and the local fire official of any
73 municipality in which such facility is located, and (B) update each sign
74 at the facility displaying the contact information for the emergency
75 contact person.
76     (4) Any person designated as an emergency contact person pursuant
77 to this subsection shall be available to respond to any emergency at such
78 facility not later than one hour after the occurrence of such emergency.
79 If an emergency contact person fails to timely respond in the event of an
80 emergency at such facility, any firefighter or other emergency services
81 personnel who attempted to contact the emergency contact person shall
82 file a written report with the council detailing such lack of response.
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83    Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) (a) Not later than November
84 1, 2026, the chairperson of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, in
85 consultation with the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental
86 Protection and the Connecticut Siting Council, shall convene a working
87 group within the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority for the purpose
88 of reviewing and assessing any processes concerning the resumption of
89 electric generation services after a shutoff of such services at any facility
90 described in subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 16-50i of the
91 general statutes that exceeds five days. Such review and assessment
92 shall consider (1) any existing statutory, regulatory or contractual
93 processes governing the resumption of electric generation services
94 following an extended shutoff; (2) the adequacy of coordination among
95 electric generation facility owners or operators, electric distribution
96 companies, regional transmission organizations and state agencies; (3)
97 potential risks to public safety or electric grid reliability associated with
98 extended shutoffs and subsequent resumption of service; and (4) any
99 recommendations for statutory, regulatory or procedural changes to
100 improve transparency, coordination and safety upon the resumption of
101 such services.
102   (b) The working group shall include:
103    (1) The chairperson of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, or
104 the chairperson's designee;
105   (2) The chairperson of the Connecticut Siting Council, or the
106 chairperson's designee;
107    (3) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, or
108 the commissioner's designee;
109   (4) One or more representatives from an electric distribution
110 company, as defined in section 16-1 of the general statutes;
111   (5) One or more owners or operators of an electric generation facility
112 described in subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 16-50i of the
113 general statutes;
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114    (6) A person employed by an institution of higher education in the
115 state, who has expertise in electrical engineering or any field related to
116 the generation, transmission or distribution of electricity;
117   (7) The Consumer Counsel, or the counsel's designee; and
118   (8) Any other interested party the chairperson deems appropriate.
119     (c) Not later than February 1, 2027, the chairperson of the Public
120 Utilities Regulatory Authority shall, in accordance with the provisions
121 of section 11-4a of the general statutes, submit a report on the efforts of
122 such working group and any recommendations to the joint standing
123 committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters
124 relating to energy and technology and public safety.
  This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
  sections:
  Section 1      October 1, 2026  New section
  Sec. 2  October 1, 2026  16-50l(i) and (j)
  Sec. 3  October 1, 2026  New section
 Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
 In Section 2, instances of "chief executive official" were changed to "chief
 executive officer" for conformity with the general statutes.
 ET  Joint Favorable Subst.
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