Subcommittee reviews amendments to Senate Bill 2339 that limit utility liability and pin standards to mitigation plans

Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee members reviewed agreed amendments to Senate Bill 2339 on utility wildfire mitigation and liability, hearing from utility representatives, insurers and a cooperative that raised concerns about vegetation-management standards.

The amendments discussed would codify that power companies and electrical cooperatives are not subject to a strict-liability standard; create a rebuttable presumption of adequate care for utilities that have and comply with a wildfire mitigation plan; require plan resubmission every two years instead of every three; add a requirement to comply with the National Electric Safety Code; and change one reporting requirement for rural electric cooperatives from "shall" to "may." Committee members heard objections from Minnkota Power Cooperative about a mandatory reference to an American National Standards Institute vegetation-management standard.

Dennis Patheroff, representing the Power Companies in North Dakota (PCND), said the insurance industry and utilities had negotiated the changes after…