New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 14 - PUBLIC UTILITIES
Chapter 5 - ELECTRIC SERVICE
Subchapter 9 - ELECTRIC UTILITY LINE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT
Section 14:5-9.3 - General provisions

Universal Citation: NJ Admin Code 14:5-9.3

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 6, March 18, 2024

(a) An EDC shall ensure that vegetation management is conducted in accordance with this subchapter on any energized conductors of 600 volts and higher, whether for distribution or transmission, that the electric public utility owns, in whole or in part.

(b) Each EDC shall obtain, and shall ensure that its contractors obtain, all required permits and licenses prior to commencement of vegetation management.

(c) An EDC that utilizes chemical or biological agents in vegetation management shall comply with any laws or regulations governing the use of those biological and chemical agents.

(d) Each EDC shall employ a vegetation manager, who is an electric utility arborist. The VM shall be a utility employee, not a contractor. The electric public utility shall provide the VM with the authority and the resources to administer all aspects of the utility's vegetation management program, and the VM shall ensure that the electric public utility complies with this subchapter. The VM's name and contact information shall be posted on the electric utility's website and shall be included on all notifications provided pursuant to the notice requirements of 14:5-9.10.

(e) Each EDC shall ensure that all contractors hired to perform vegetation management inform their workers of all applicable Federal and State laws, rules or regulations that apply to the work performed under this subchapter. The EDC shall also ensure that all contractors comply with each applicable requirement of this subchapter and all other applicable law.

(f) In addition to the vegetation management work required under this subchapter, an EDC, at the sole discretion of the EDC's VM, may perform additional vegetation management work, on the EDC's distribution system, which is requested to meet the aesthetic desires of a municipality or a private property owner and which is brought to the attention of the EDC's VM before the EDC's vegetation management commences in a municipality or on a private property owner's property, provided that the additional work requested will not impair the EDC's ability to meet the reliability and safety objectives of this subchapter, negatively impact the EDC's schedule of vegetation management work, or require incremental costs. An EDC that performs vegetation management on the EDC's distribution system at the request of a municipality, government agency, or private property owner, other than the vegetation management work required under this subchapter, may require the requesting party to pay any incremental cost above the EDC's cost to perform the vegetation management required by this subchapter. This subsection shall not apply to transmission line vegetation management required under 14:5-9.7.

(g) Upon a written request from a municipality, an EDC may, but is not required to, temporarily suspend compliance with one or more of the vegetation management requirements of this subchapter, within the following limits:

1. The suspension of compliance shall apply only to the distribution system, and shall not apply to transmission line vegetation management required under 14:5-9.7;

2. The suspension of compliance shall apply only to those portions of a distribution system that are located within the municipality, and that do not affect service to any adjacent municipality;

3. The EDC shall not suspend compliance with any requirement if the suspension would result in danger to the public; and

4. If the suspension results in additional costs to the EDC due to lack of tree trimming or other vegetation management, the municipality shall reimburse the EDC for additional costs.

(h) An EDC may petition the Board for recovery of the distribution and transmission portion of vegetation management program costs required under this subchapter in future base rate proceedings.

(i) Each EDC shall perform vegetation management on a pro rata basis over the four-year cycle identified in 14:5-9.4(b).

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