A new law protecting Line Worker safety was signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee on April 20, 2021. The new law protects Tennesseans from improperly installed electric generation equipment.
What the Bill Does
- Requires electric generating equipment (like solar panels, wind turbines, gas generators, etc.) to comply with all relevant national electrical code standards.
- Makes installation of the equipment subject to inspection of the state electrical inspector.
- Requires the equipment include the capability to separate it from the grid.
- Requires customers notify an electric utility they’re installing the equipment and allow it to be tested for safety.
- Protects electric utilities from liability from any fines, penalties, injuries, or damages caused by the equipment.
Information on Tennessee’s Municipal Electric Utilities
- Tennessee is a leader in the nation for public power and municipal electric systems as the state with:
- Highest amount of power sold by municipal electric systems
- Second highest number of customers served by municipal electric systems
- Second highest percentage of residential customers served by municipal electric systems
- Tennessee’s 60 municipal electric utilities provide electricity to over 2.4 million homes/businesses
- Serve 68% of state’s electric customers and sell 75% of power sold in the state
- Assets over $9.1 billion, pay $200 million in PILOT to local governments, and employ over 7,000 people
- Many provide other services – 29 offer water/wastewater service, 13 offer broadband and 11 offer natural gas
For complete details, please click here: TNLineWorkerSafetyLaw