Emergency Response Plans

In recent years, several states have enacted legislation requiring telecommunications carriers to prepare written emergency response plans.  Some require carriers to submit formal plans to the state’s Public Utilities Commission (“PUC”) for review.  Some states also require carriers to provide annual updates to filed emergency plans outlining vulnerabilities as well as providing detailed measures for emergency operations. 

State rules vary as to the specifics of the plans.  While some states enumerate precise requirements that carriers must include in every plan, others simply compel written plans “to meet service emergencies.”  For example, Texas rules demand that emergencies plans must include:

• Procedures for contacting the media, customers, and service users as soon as reasonably possible either before or at the onset of an emergency
• Plans as to how the utility's telephone system and complaint-handling procedures will be augmented during an emergency;
• A list of  key personnel and equipment that will be required to implement
• the plan when an emergency occurs;
• Priorities for restoration of service;
• A plan for disaster recovery and continuity of operations;
• A plan to provide continuous and adequate service during a pandemic; and
• A hurricane plan, including evacuation and re-entry procedures (for a utility providing service within a hurricane evacuation zone).

Some state rules may also require an affidavit from the utility's operations officer indicating that all relevant operating personnel within the utility are familiar with the contents of the emergency operations plan and that all employees are committed to following plan in an emergency. Additionally, carriers may also be required to file updated plans if any changes are made within 30 days after the changes take effect.  Some states also require detailed maps of a carrier’s facilities.