Sign Up
S 9980 New York Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Reduces electric corporations' response time for securing downed wires

Summary
Requires each utility to take appropriate safety precautions regarding electrical hazards, including developing plans to promptly de-energize downed wires within two hours of notification of the location of such downed wires from a municipal emergency responder and promptly secure such wires within six hours in the case of events that are not considered emergencies.
Issues: ✓ EnergySupports EnergyBill strengthens energy infrastructure safety by mandating faster response times for downed wires, protecting consumers and grid reliability.85% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentBill mandates utility companies to promptly secure downed wires, directly improving workplace safety for workers exposed to electrical hazards.85% confidence
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Apr 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Apr 20, 2026 Last action May 19, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

S9980 → S9980A · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was amended to change the legislative status from a draft to a version that has been reviewed and modified by the committee. The core policy text was completely rewritten to replace a single one-hour deadline with a tiered response system requiring utilities to de-energize wires within two hours and secure them within six hours for non-emergency events. The effective date was also changed from immediate to ninety days after enactment.
Scope change
The bill's scope regarding specific response times was expanded and modified to include different timeframes based on whether the event is classified as an emergency or not.
REQUIREMENT

The mandatory response time for securing downed wires was changed from a flat one-hour limit to a two-hour limit for de-energizing and a six-hour limit for securing wires in non-emergency situations.

New requirements were added for utilities to develop specific communication procedures to inform emergency responders of expected timeframes for securing wires.

TIMELINE

The effective date of the law was changed from 'immediately' to 'ninety days after it becomes a law'.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
3
Key actions
2
Committee
1
Amendments
2
May 19, 2026
Upper · Passed
PRINT NUMBER 9980A
upper
May 19, 2026
Upper · Passed
AMEND (T) AND RECOMMIT TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
upper
Apr 20, 2026
Committee
REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of James Skoufis
James Skoufis
DDemocratic
NY
42