Tex. Nat. Res. Code § 91.019 · Subchapter B. DUTIES RELATING TO OIL AND GAS WELLS
STANDARDS FOR CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION, AND MAINTENANCE OF ELECTRICAL POWER LINES.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) An operator shall construct, operate, and maintain:
(1) an electrical power line serving a well site or other surface facility employed in operations incident to oil and gas development and production in accordance with the National Electrical Code published by the National Fire Protection Association and adopted by the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation under Chapter 1305, Occupations Code; and
(2) electrical power line poles in a manner that ensures the prevention and remediation of any readily observable deficiencies, including damage, deterioration, leaning, or cracking.
(b) If a landowner or lessee discovers a condition involving an electrical power line, pole, or any other related electrical equipment that does not meet the standards described by Subsection (a), the landowner or lessee shall provide written notice of the condition to the commission.
(c) If, during an inspection by the commission of a well site or surface facility employed in operations incident to oil and gas development and production or on the receipt of a written notice submitted by a landowner or lessee, the commission discovers a readily observable condition involving an electrical power line, pole, or any other related electrical equipment that does not meet the standards described by Subsection (a) and poses a risk of causing a fire or injury to a person, the commission shall, not later than three days after the discovery of the condition, notify the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the operator. The notification provided by the commission must include a description of the condition and whether the well is abandoned.
(d) The commission shall notify the landowner of the condition and inform the landowner of the actions the commission and the Public Utility Commission of Texas will take or have taken to resolve the condition not later than:
(1) the 10th day after the date the commission discovers the condition; or
(2) the 30th day after the date the commission discovers the condition, if the commission does not have the landowner's contact information at the time of the discovery.
(e) Not later than the 10th day after the date on which the commission discovers the condition, the commission and the Public Utility Commission of Texas shall resolve the condition by:
(1) requesting that the state fire marshal or a local government authority inspect the condition at the well site or surface facility and requiring the operator to mitigate any dangerous conditions identified by the state fire marshal or local government authority;
(2) requesting that the electric cooperative, electric utility, or municipally owned utility that provides electric service to the well site or surface facility disconnect electric service to the well site or surface facility at the common coupling point at which the cooperative's or utility's equipment meets customer-owned equipment; or
(3) taking any other action the commission and the Public Utility Commission of Texas consider necessary and appropriate to resolve the condition.
(f) If electric service was disconnected pursuant to a request made under Subsection (e)(2), the electric cooperative, electric utility, or municipally owned utility must restore electric service to the well site or surface facility on receipt of notice by the commission that the condition has been resolved.
(g) Members, employees, and agents of the commission may enter public or private property only as necessary for purposes of conducting an inspection under this section.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 442 (H.B. 2259), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2009.
Amended by:
Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 714 (H.B. 143), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2025.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/NR/htm/NR.91.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 0d5fea4459775fd7587082d574f6437da2508a3be96d1cf7378a3aaa4222f50a
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
This section cites
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