Section 170 IAC 4-1-23 - Interruptions of service; timing; recordsAuthority: IC 8-1-1-3; IC 8-1-2-4
Affected: IC 8-1-2-12; IC 8-1-2-113; IC 8-1-13
Sec. 23.
(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: (1) "Business days" means all days other than:(C) a legal holiday observed by the state of Indiana.(2) "Customer" means a metered electrical service point for which an active bill account is established at a specific location.(3) "Customer average interruption duration index (CAIDI)" is calculated by dividing the summation of sustained service interruption durations for a specified period of time by the total number of customers interrupted. This index indicates the average time required to restore a sustained service interruption.(4) "Customer of record" means any: (E) other government agency; which has agreed, orally or otherwise, to pay for electric service received from a utility.(5) "Interruption" means the loss of electrical service to one (1) or more customers connected to the distribution portion of the system.(6) "Investor-owned utility" means any utility that is financed by the sale of securities and whose business operations are overseen by a board representing their shareholders.(7) "Nonbusiness days" means: (C) a legal holiday observed by the state of Indiana.(8) "Planned service interruption" means a service interruption initiated by the utility to perform scheduled activities, such as, but not limited to: (B) infrastructure improvements; and(C) new construction due to customer growth. Customers of record are typically notified in advance of such events.
(9) "REMC" means an electric utility formed under IC 8-1-13.(10) "Sustained service interruption" means a service interruption that is greater than or equal to five (5) minutes unless defined as five (5) minutes or less by the individual utility.(11) "System average interruption duration index (SAIDI)" is calculated by dividing the summation of sustained service interruption durations for a specified period of time by the total number of customers served. This index indicates the total duration of a sustained service interruption for the average customer during a specified period of time.(12) "System average interruption frequency index (SAIFI)" is calculated by dividing the summation of customers that experienced sustained service interruptions over a specified period of time by the total number of customers served. This index indicates how many sustained service interruptions a customer experiences over a specified period of time.(b) The requirements for the reporting of sustained service interruptions are as follows: (1) A utility shall report any interruption in service that is not planned that meets the following criteria: (A) For investor-owned utilities, interruptions of service lasting two (2) hours or more and affecting two percent (2%) or five thousand (5,000) customers, whichever is fewer.(B) For REMCs, interruptions of service lasting two (2) hours or more and affecting one thousand five hundred (1,500) or more customers. An initial report shall be made to the commission by the next regularly scheduled interval as provided in subdivision (2) and updates shall be made to the commission at each regularly scheduled interval until electrical service has been restored to the level below that of the threshold described in clause (A). The report indicating that all electrical service has been restored to the level below that of the threshold described in clause (A) shall be noted as the "final report" for each interruption period.
(2) The regularly scheduled intervals for reporting times shall be as follows: (A) On business days: 6:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m., and 9:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time (EST) (Indianapolis time).(B) On nonbusiness days: 6:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m., and 9:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) (Indianapolis time).(3) Service interruption reports that occur during business days shall be submitted to the commission and the office of the utility consumer counselor via commission prescribed format. The preferred method of reporting is via electronic mail; however, telephone or other types of reports may be made if coordinated in advance with commission staff.(4) In the case of an extreme emergency, a different schedule for status reporting may be agreed to by the commission and the utility until the emergency has ended.(5) The commission shall notify the utility if a written report or further information is required after the final report is submitted.(6) This subsection shall not apply to a curtailment or an interruption of service to customers receiving service under interruptible rate classifications when the curtailment or interruption of service occurs pursuant to the affected retail customer's service agreement.(c) Whenever service is intentionally interrupted for any purpose, the utility shall, except in emergencies, make reasonable attempts to minimize the inconvenience to affected customers of record. The utility shall make reasonable attempts to notify in advance customers of record whose service is expected to be interrupted for more than one (1) hour for scheduled maintenance or facilities upgrades, consistent with safety and security considerations. This rule does not apply to customer interruptions pursuant to an interruptible tariff or agreement approved by the commission.(d) Utilities shall first attempt to restore service that affects public health and safety. Each utility shall have written procedures for designated employees to follow in emergencies. The procedures shall contain at least the following:(1) Notification procedures for emergency response personnel.(2) General location or locations of: (C) materials; normally needed to restore service.(3) Procedures for notifying:(D) other public; officials(e) Each investor-owned utility shall file a reliability indices report with the commission's electricity division on or before March 1 of each year. The first report filed under this section shall include data from the previous three (3) calendar years. Subsequent reports filed under this section shall include data only from the previous calendar year. The report shall contain the following information: (1) The reliability indices SAIDI, CAIDI, and SAIFI, with and without major events, for the utility's system and for each district or region into which its system may be divided. The utility shall report these data and analyses on a form prescribed by the commission.(2) The definition of major event used by the utility for reporting purposes.(3) For the reported indices, the number of customers used for the calculations and the utility's definition of customer. If a REMC maintains sufficient electronic records to comply with this subsection, the cooperative utility shall file a reliability indices report under this subsection.(f) The commission may require that data be reported by the utilities in order to determine whether a utility is providing service consistent with thisrule. The utilityshall maintain historical CAIDI, SAIDI, SAIFI, and supporting data needed tocalculate those indexes for a minimum of seven (7) yearsIndiana Utility Regulatory Commission; No. 33629: Standards of Service For Electrical Utilities Rule 21; filed Mar 10, 1976, 9:10 a.m.: Rules and Regs. 1977, p. 355; readopted filed Jul 11, 2001, 4:30 p.m.: 24 IR 4233; filed Oct 18, 2004, 2:40 p.m.: 28 IR 789; readopted filed Apr 24, 2007, 8:21 a.m.: 20070509-IR-170070147RFA;readopted filed Aug 2, 2013, 2:16 p.m.: 20130828-IR-170130227RFAReadopted filed 4/11/2019, 9:04 a.m.: 20190508-IR-170190136RFA