New York Attorney General Eric T. Schniederman announced plans to propose legislation to require electric and gas utilities to assess and document their preparations to address their vulnerabilities to climate change. The announcement cites the impacts of Hurricanes Sandy and Irene as well as the findings of the National Climate Assessment as evidence that climate impacts are already occurring.
The press release also says that the forthcoming legislative proposal is tied to the recent settlement between New York City power provider Con Ed and the New York Public Service Commission, which was reported in AMWA’s February 2014 Security and Sustainability Report. The Attorney General will work with state legislators to introduce the bill, which will reportedly require the state’s investor-owned power utilities and the Long Island Power Authority, to assess the impacts of climate change to their facilities and to document how they will incorporate these findings into future operations, planning, design and emergency preparations.