HB 1212

HLS 26RS-2698  ORIGINAL
 2026 Regular Session
 HOUSE BILL NO. 1212
 BY REPRESENTATIVE CREWS
 INFRASTRUCTURE: Provides relative to the evaluation of transformers
1AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 44:4.1(B)(36) and to enact Chapter 70 of Title 51 of the
3Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, to be comprised of R.S. 51:3301, relative to
4evaluation of transformers; to provide for a public records exception; to provide
5definitions; to provide relative to a technical assessment of covered equipment; to
6provide for a report on technical assessments; and to provide for related matters.
7 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
8Section 1. R.S. 44:4.1(B)(36) is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:
9§4.1. Exceptions
10*       *  *
11B. The legislature further recognizes that there exist exceptions, exemptions,
12and limitations to the laws pertaining to public records throughout the revised
13statutes and codes of this state. Therefore, the following exceptions, exemptions, and
14limitations are hereby continued in effect by incorporation into this Chapter by
15citation:
16*       *  *
17(36) R.S. 51:710.2(B), 705, 706, 936, 1363.1, 1404, 1926, 1934, 2113, 2182,
182262, 2318, 2370.3, 2370.16, 2370.25, 2370.27, 2389, 3301
19*       *  *
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 HLS 26RS-2698  ORIGINAL
  HB NO. 1212
1Section 2. Chapter 70 of Title 51 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950,
2 comprised of R.S. 51:3301, is hereby enacted to read as follows:
3  CHAPTER 70: SURVEY ALL VULNERABLE ELECTRIC TRANSFORMERS ACT
4§3301. SAVE Act
5A. For the purposes of this Chapter, the following terms have the meanings
6ascribed to them:
7(1) "Covered entity" means an electric utility or electric project developer,
8owner, or operator within this state, regardless of public or private ownership or
9jurisdiction under NERC.
10(2) "Covered equipment" means any generation or transmission large power
11transformer, including GSU, auto, step-down, or converter, with a high side,
12wye-grounded winding with terminal voltage of two hundred kilovolts or greater.
13(3) "Critical energy infrastructure information protocols", "critical electric
14infrastructure information protocols", or "CEII" means specific engineering,
15vulnerability, or detailed design protocols and procedures related to proposed or
16existing critical infrastructure, whether physical or virtual, that relate to the
17production, generation, transmission, transportation, or distribution of energy, the
18unauthorized disclosure of which could pose a risk to the security, reliability, or
19integrity of the infrastructure. The protocols are designed as confidential and exempt
20from public disclosure.
21(4) "GIC" means ground induced current, also known as geomagnetically
22induced current, resulting from naturally occurring geomagnetic disturbances or the
23late-time component of a high-altitude nuclear electromagnetic pulse.
24(5) "NERC" means the North American Electric Reliability Corporation.
25B.(1) Each covered entity shall conduct a technical assessment of all covered
26equipment to determine vulnerability to GICs.
27(2) The assessment shall do all of the following:
28(a) Utilize the waveform in Figure 9 of IEC 61000-2-9, Edition 2.0
29(2025-05), modeling a peak electric field of eighty five volts per kilometer in
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 HLS 26RS-2698  ORIGINAL
  HB NO. 1212
1covered entities existing DC circuit model developed for NERC GMD, or
2geomagnetic disturbance, Standard TPL-007.
3(b) Assume transformers are fully loaded during GIC exposure.
4(c) Account for transformer age and condition using American National
5Standards Institute/Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standard
6C57.110 and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standard C57.91.
7(d) Identify susceptibility to half-cycle saturation, GIC-induced harmonics,
8reactive power consumption, hot spot generation, and insulation degradation.
9C.(1) By October 30, 2026, each covered entity shall submit a report on the
10assessment conducted pursuant to this Chapter to the Governor's Office of Homeland
11Security and Emergency Preparedness with copies to the Public Service Commission
12and the United States Department of Energy.
13(2) The report shall include, for each susceptible transformer, all of the
14following:
15(a) Transformer nameplate information with design specifications.
16(b) Transformer location.
17(c) Transformer purpose, including GSU, auto, step-down, or converter.
18(d) Spreadsheet-formatted data and narrative analysis, including maximum
19GIC in the neutral of each transformer.
20(e) Recommended solutions to protect the grid against GIC by preventing or
21reducing the half cycle saturation of transformers.
22(f)   Total cost to implement GIC protection hardware on susceptible
23transformers.
24(g) Priority list of transformers by damage risk and critical infrastructure
25impact.
26(h) Funding recommendations to protect at-risk transformers, including but
27not limited to any of the following potential options:
28(i) Government grants and direct funding programs, such as grid resilience
29utility and industry grants, grid modernization grants, grid innovation program
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 HLS 26RS-2698  ORIGINAL
  HB NO. 1212
1grants, formula grants for preventing outages, and building resilient infrastructure
2and communities, or BRIC, grants.
3(ii) Loans and loan guarantees.
4(iii) Regulatory and cost recovery mechanisms.
5(iv) Tariffs and rebates.
6(v) Tax credits and direct pay incentives.
7(3) A public version of the report outlined in this Subsection shall be
8submitted to the House of Representatives Select Committee on Homeland Security
9with CEII redacted.
10D. CEII data submitted pursuant to this Chapter shall be handled in
11accordance with CEII protocols as defined in this Chapter. CEII shall be redacted
12from public reports.
13E.    The director of the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and
14Emergency Preparedness shall review the reports and recommendations of the
15utilities, request further information as deemed necessary, and report to the governor
16and the House of Representatives Select Committee on Homeland Security by April
171, 2027, with any recommendations to protect the state, its inhabitants, and
18businesses.
19F. Covered entities shall not rely solely on operational procedures, such as
20load shedding or reactive power supply, to mitigate GIC risk. Such procedures are
21not considered sufficient protection pursuant to this Chapter.
22Section 3. This Act shall be known as and may be cited as the "Survey All
23 Vulnerable Electric Transformers Act" or "SAVE Act".
  DIGEST
 The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
 of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
 part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
 HB 1212 Original  2026 Regular Session  Crews
 Abstract: Provides relative to the assessment of transformers.
 Present law provides relative to public record exceptions.
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HLS 26RS-2698  ORIGINAL
  HB NO. 1212
Proposed law adds proposed law to the public record exceptions.
Proposed law defines "covered entity", "covered equipment", "critical energy infrastructure
information protocols", "critical electric infrastructure information protocol", "GIC", and
"NERC".
Proposed law requires each covered entity to conduct a technical assessment of all covered
equipment to determine vulnerability to ground induced currents (GICs).
Proposed law requires each covered entity to submit a report on the assessment conducted
pursuant to proposed law to the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency
Preparedness (GOHSEP). Proposed law also requires that copies of the report be sent to the
Public Service Commission and the United States Department of Energy.
Proposed law requires that the aforementioned report be sent by Oct. 30, 2026.
Proposed law requires the report to include, for each susceptible transformer, all of the
following:
(1)    Transformer nameplate information with design specifications.
(2)    Transformer location.
(3)    Transformer purpose, including GSU, auto, step-down, or converter.
(4)    Spreadsheet-formatted data and narrative analysis, including maximum GIC in the
   neutral of each transformer.
(5)    Recommended solutions to protect the grid against GIC by preventing or reducing
   the half cycle saturation of transformers.
(6)    Total cost to implement GIC protection hardware on susceptible transformers.
(7)    Priority list of transformers by damage risk and critical infrastructure impact.
(8)    Funding recommendations to protect at-risk transformers, including but not limited
   to potential options provided for in proposed law (R.S. 51:3301(C)(2)(h)(i) - (v)).
Proposed law requires a public version of the assessment report to be submitted to the House
of Representatives Select Committee on Homeland Security with Critical Energy
Infrastructure Information (CEII) redacted.
Proposed law further requires the CEII data submitted to be handled in accordance with the
CEII protocols provided for in proposed law.
Proposed law requires the director of GOHSEP to do all of the following:
(1)    Review the reports and recommendations of the utilities.
(2)    Request further information as deemed necessary.
(3)    Report to the governor and the House of Representatives Select Committee on
   Homeland Security any recommendations to protect the state, its inhabitants, and
   businesses. Proposed law further requires this report to be submit by April 1, 2027.
Proposed law states that covered entities shall not rely solely on operational procedures, such
as load shedding or reactive power supply, to mitigate GIC risk. Proposed law further states
that such procedures are not considered sufficient protection pursuant to proposed law.
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HLS 26RS-2698  ORIGINAL
  HB NO. 1212
(Amends R.S. 44:4.1(B)(36); Adds R.S. 51:3301)
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