Oregon Electric Utilities Prepared for Wildfire Season With Mitigation Plans in Place

The  Oregon Public Utility Commission has announced that the state’s electric utilities have filed plans to mitigate and prevent wildfire risk in the region. The plans are the first to be filed in response to legislation enacted in August 2021 requiring utilities to identify high-risk areas within their service territory and reduce those risks. The law followed devastating fires that swept across Western Oregon in September 2020.

The 2021 law established the formal standard operating procedures for the mitigation plans.  The plans include protocols for public safety power shutoffs, or PSPS, a measure of last resort, whereby utilities  proactively shut off power during extreme weather conditions, which can damage high energized electrical lines and spark a rapidly spreading fire. The commission recently adopted new rules for public safety power shutoff events laying out specific communication requirements for the utilities to inform public safety partners, state agencies, local jurisdictions, and the public of the need for such an event to mitigate wildfire risk  The commission encouraged the public to be aware of the possibility of PSPS events during weather-induced fire events.

The commission had directed the state’s three regulated investor-owned utilities to submit their plans by the end of 2021, which required approval within 180 days of submission. The state’s consumer-owned utilities must receive approval from their local governing body t before filing with the commission.

In April, the commission approved plans for PacifiCorp, Portland General Electric, and Idaho Power and recommended that the utilities collaborate with commission staff as a means of improving the information they include in their plan for 2023. The Idaho Power 2022 plan was approved subject to the condition that it addresses identified deficiencies in its plan by June 28, 2022.