Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS)
U.S. Forest Service / Benjamin Cossel
Grid operators and utilities have a double exposure to the increasingly fire-prone environment: grid assets can cause fires and be damaged by them, says columnist Dej Knuckey.
Washington State Department of Transportation
As large swaths of the West continue to explore ways to mitigate wildfire risk, utilities say information sharing and new technologies allow them to implement targeted public safety power shutoffs.
Bonneville Power Administration
The Northwest faces “above normal significant wildland fire potential” in July 2025, and the Bonneville Power Administration is taking steps to enhance mitigation efforts.
PG&E
A new three-year wildfire mitigation plan from Pacific Gas and Electric incorporates tried-and-true strategies such as undergrounding power lines, as well as some newer approaches such as pole-mounted sensors
Cal Fire
The rapidly spreading brush fires that have devastated multiple communities around Los Angeles are not expected to affect California’s broader transmission grid, CAISO said.
Bonneville Power Administration
BPA hit all its reliability goals in fiscal year 2024 despite massive wildfires, peak load records and public safety power shutoffs, according to agency staff.
CPUC
Intense heat coupled with this summer’s early and active fire season will likely increase the need for public safety power shutoffs later this year, according to utilities presenting at a California PUC workshop.
Cal Fire
CAISO declared its first transmission emergency of the summer as a fast-spreading Northern California fire forced PG&E to de-energize transmission lines near one of the state’s key hydroelectric facilities.
FEMA
Arizona Public Service is prepared to implement public safety power shutoffs, and another utility in the state is laying the groundwork to use the wildfire prevention technique.
© RTO Insider LLC
Western regulators heard from a power panel of CEOs on maintaining grid reliability in the face of fires, storms, extreme heat and supply chain disruptions.
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