Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS)
The Northwest faces “above normal significant wildland fire potential” in July 2025, and the Bonneville Power Administration is taking steps to enhance mitigation efforts.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
WECC held a two-day webinar on the outlook for this summer, including Western wildfires and hydropower conditions in the Colorado and Columbia River basins.
The CPUC approved funding and rules for its Microgrid Incentive Program, which helps build standalone power systems for communities vulnerable to outages.
Want more? Advanced Search