Section 19-153. Inspection, testing and repair of electrical-related infrastructure

a. The provisions of this section shall  only  apply  to  electrical-related  infrastructure  located  in  the  city  of  New York
  capable of emitting stray voltage. For purposes  of  this  section,  the
  following  terms  shall  have the following meanings: 1. "Local electric
  corporation" shall mean an electric corporation as defined in  paragraph
  13  of  section 2 of the public service law, or its successor provision,
  that owns and operates transmission and  distribution  systems  for  the
  provision of electrical service in the city of New York.
    2.  "Stray  voltage"  shall  mean any unintended electrical potentials
  between contact points that may be encountered by humans or animals.
    3. "Voltmeter" shall mean an instrument that measures  differences  of
  electric potential in volts.
    4.  "Non-conductive  protective  material"  shall  mean  any casing or
  material of sufficient composition or thickness to  adequately  obstruct
  the unintended flow of electricity.
    b.  All  local  electric  corporations  shall,  where  practicable and
  appropriate for the protection of public safety, utilize  non-conductive
  protective materials to insulate their electrical-related infrastructure
  to prevent stray voltage.
    c.  All  local  electric  corporations  shall  establish and implement
  written guidelines and procedures for the annual inspection  or  testing
  of  each  category  of  its  electrical-related  infrastructure  used to
  provide electrical service and for the repair of such infrastructure  if
  required.  Such  guidelines  and  procedures  shall  include  the annual
  inspection of each category  of  its  electrical-related  infrastructure
  located  on,  above  or  below  any  sidewalk used to provide electrical
  service  and  the  repair  of  such  infrastructure  if  required.  Such
  guidelines  and procedures shall also include the annual testing of each
  category of its electrical-related infrastructure in any location  other
  than  on,  above  or below a sidewalk used to provide electrical service
  and the repair of such infrastructure if required. Each  inspection  and
  testing  period  shall  be  comprised  of  an uninterrupted twelve month
  period concluding on November 30  of  each  year.  Such  local  electric
  corporations  shall  establish such inspection and testing schedules and
  procedures for at least the following categories  of  electrical-related
  infrastructure:   transformers,   switching   and   protective  devices,
  regulators and capacitors, overhead and underground  cables,  wires  and
  conductors, above and below ground utility and connection boxes, manhole
  covers, metal plates, gratings and poles.
    d.  Each  piece  of  electrical-related infrastructure included in the
  list of categories of such infrastructure set forth in subdivision c  of
  this section that has been found to emit stray voltage shall be repaired
  or  made safe within twenty-four hours of discovery or knowledge of such
  condition by the local electric corporation that owns and  operates  the
  infrastructure,  or  a  contractor or subcontractor thereof, in a manner
  that completely eliminates the emission of any such stray voltage.
    e. Upon completion  of  the  annual  inspection,  testing  and  repair
  program  mandated  by  subdivision c of this section, all local electric
  corporations shall provide the council, the department  and  the  public
  service  commission  with  a  written report no later than January 15 of
  each  year.  Such  report  shall  state   that   each   piece   of   its
  electrical-related  infrastructure  has  been  inspected where required,
  tested  where  required,  and,  if  necessary,   repaired   during   the
  immediately  preceding  inspection and testing period. Such report shall
  indicate each location at which stray voltage was found and shall  state
  that in each such instance, each repair was completed in accordance with
  accepted professional standards and that no public safety hazard exists.

  Such   report   shall  include  a  detailed  account  of  all  types  of
  non-conductive protective materials  utilized  to  insulate  such  local
  electric  corporation's  electrical-related  infrastructure  during  the
  period  being reported upon, as well as any planned changes in the types
  of non-conductive protective materials to be employed  during  the  next
  reporting  period to meet the mandate set forth in subdivision b of this
  section with an explanation for any proposed change. Such  report  shall
  also  include  a complete list of all inspections, tests and repairs for
  the detection and elimination of stray  voltage  conducted  outside  the
  course of the inspection and testing schedules required by subdivision c
  of  this  section,  such  as  those  initiated  in  response to consumer
  complaints,  including  the  nature  and  location  of   the   condition
  complained  of,  whether the complaint was founded, what repair work was
  undertaken and to what category of electrical-related infrastructure and
  the amount of time taken from receipt of  the  complaint  to  completely
  eliminate any stray voltage.
    f.   The  department  shall  conduct  random  tests,  by  utilizing  a
  voltmeter,  of  the  electrical-related  infrastructure  of  any   local
  electric  corporation  for  the  purposes of detecting stray voltage and
  shall maintain written  reports  of  the  results  of  each  such  test.
  Commencing with the twelve month inspection and testing period beginning
  on  December  1, 2004, the department shall conduct at least two hundred
  fifty such tests at random sites during each twelve month inspection and
  testing period. The reports created pursuant to this  testing  shall  be
  forwarded  to  the  public  service commission and to the local electric
  corporation whose sites the department tests.
    g. All local electric corporations shall establish  and  implement  an
  educational  campaign  aimed  at informing the public of how to identify
  and protect themselves from the dangers  of  stray  voltage  potentially
  emanating  from  their  electrical-related  infrastructure. The campaign
  shall utilize the information from the  annual  report  of  inspections,
  tests  and  repairs  required by this section to alert the public to the
  locations most frequently documented as having had stray voltage.