Section 59.11. Accidents

(a) General. Each public utility shall submit a report of each reportable accident involving the facilities or operations of the public utility in this Commonwealth as provided in this section. The reports shall be addressed to the Secretary of the Commission.

(b) Reportable accidents. Reportable accidents are those involving utility facilities or operations which result in one or more of the following circumstances:

(1) The death of a person.

(2) Injury to a person sufficient that the injured person requires immediate treatment at a hospital emergency room or in-patient admittance to a hospital, or both.

(3) An event that involves a release of gas from a pipeline or of LNG or gas from an LNG facility, which results in estimated property damage, including the cost of gas lost of the operator or others, of at least $50,000 in market value.

(4) An event that results in an emergency shutdown of an LNG facility.

(5) An occurrence of an unusual nature that is a physical or cyber attack, including attempts against cyber security measures as defined in Chapter 101 (relating to public utility preparedness through self certification) which causes an interruption of service or over $50,000 in damages, or both.

(c) Exceptions. Injuries, as defined in subsection (b)(1) and (2), may not include those suffered as a result of a motor vehicle accident with utility facilities unless one or both of the following circumstances apply:

(1) A vehicle involved in the accident is owned by the utility or driven by a utility employee while on duty.

(2) Some or all of the injuries were as a result of contact with natural gas facilities transporting or storing natural gas or due to gas escaping from natural gas facilities.

(d) Telephone reports. A report by telephone shall be made immediately after the utility becomes aware of the occurrence of a reportable accident under subsection (b)(1), (3), (4) and (5). A report by telephone shall be made within 24 hours after the utility becomes aware of a reportable accident under subsection (b)(2).

(e) Written reports. A written report shall be made on Form UCTA-8 within 30 days of the occurrence of a reportable accident. For reportable accidents under subsection (b)(5), a utility may remove from Form UCTA-8 information that would compromise the security of the utility or hinder an active criminal investigation. Accidents reportable on forms required by the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, Department of Labor and Industry, or the United States Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, may be reported to the Commission by filing a copy of the forms in lieu of a report on Form UCTA-8, as long as the alternative forms, at a minimum, provide the following information:

(1) The utility name.

(2) The date of the reportable accident.

(3) The date of the report.

(4) The location where the reportable accident occurred.

(5) The name, age, residence and occupation of the injured or deceased parties.

(6) The general description of the reportable accident.

(7) The name and telephone number of the reporting officer.

(f) Form availability. Blank UCTA-8 forms are available for download on the Commission’s web site.

(g) Reports not exclusive. The reporting under this chapter is not limited to the requirements in this section and does not limit requests for additional information.

The provisions of this § 59.11 amended July 2, 1998, effective August 3, 1998, 28 Pa.B. 3050; amended January 6, 2012, effective January 7, 2012, 42 Pa.B. 9. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (246407) to (246408).

Notation

Authority

The provisions of this § 59.11 amended under the Public Utility Code, 66 Pa.C.S. § § 501, 1501, 1504, 1507 and 1508.