Bill Makes Utilities More Accountable For Stray Voltage
BY JOHN TOSCANO

Reacting to the latest stray voltage incident, which hospitalized a man in Manhattan, City Councilmembers Peter Vallone Jr. and John Liu have introduced legislation to impose explicit accountability on public utilities when their equipment and infrastructure endanger pedestrians.

City Councilmembers Peter Vallone Jr., top, and John Liu, bottom, have introduced legislation to impose explicit accountability on public utilities when their equipment and infrastructure endanger pedestrians.

The lawmakers said that for the first time, their Street Utilities Safety Bill will mandate financial penalties for stray voltage incidents and exploding manhole covers.

Liu (D-Flushing), chairman of the Transportation Committee, stated: "The problem is not stray voltage, which is elusive and unpredictable. The real problem is the lack of accountability that, if unaddressed, will continue to put pedestrians at risk.

"It's 2006, and people simply should not fear being shocked by electrical current just for walking on a city street.

It makes no sense whatsoever when small businesses in the city are fined thousands of dollars for uneven sidewalks and flagpole installations while the company responsible for shocking pedestrians and manhole cover explosions doesn't face any penalty."

Vallone (D-Astoria), council Public Safety Committee chair, declared, "Something has to be done."

The lawmaker said, "Con Ed's current method of using people and animals as test dummies and then rushing out to fix the problem is unacceptable. Enough is enough. New Yorkers cannot continue to walk through a minefield of stray voltage and exploding manhole covers."

Liu and Vallone expressed their outrage as they inspected the site of the most recent case of a pedestrian being shocked by stray voltage.

The incident occurred at Broadway and White Street in the Tribeca section. The person injured was hospitalized with burns to his feet after being unexpectedly jolted.

Con Edison's response was that they did not find any stray voltage at the site, Vallone and Liu said.

The legislation submitted by Vallone and Liu, which was co-sponsored by Councilmembers Melinda Katz (D-Forest Hills) and Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D-Ozone Park), states that a previous law intended to deal with the problem is not working.

"People and animals are still being injured and killed by exposure to stray voltage and endangered by exploding maintenance hole covers," the proposed new law states.

It also notes that in one recent incident, a manhole cover exploded with enough force to overturn a large sports utility vehicle and landed on a firefighter responding to reports of a manhole fire.

The lawmakers said that a Con Edison official testified at a recent council hearing that the utility is spending millions of dollars to purchase new equipment to detect stray voltage.

That's all well and good, Liu and Vallone said, but they believe the real problem results from aging infrastructure that is poorly and inadequately maintained.

They also believe, they stated, that the companies that own or maintain electricalrelated infrastructure and manholes need to be more accountable for ensuring the safety of New Yorkers.

The Vallone/Liu bill states: "By exposing to liability for civil penalties companies that allow their electrical-related infrastructure to emit stray voltage or manhole covers to become hazardous, the council intends for these companies to take a more aggressive approach in preventing stray voltage and manhole cover hazards before anyone is harmed."

Penalties for non-compliance with the proposed law would subject companies to civil penalties of $1,000 for the first violation and up to $5,000 for each succeeding violation that occurs within a 12-month period and involving the same faulty equipment.