Building to Reduce, May 27

SALEM, Ore. – Earlier, the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) received an update on wildfire mitigation efforts and planning from regulated electric utility service providers, building on past work to address wildfire risk and marking an initial step to meet the directives established in Governor Brown’s Executive Order 20-04 related to wildfires. The updates from PacifiCorp, Portland General Electric, and Idaho Power are part of an ongoing dialogue with the PUC to share perspectives and evolving approaches to the rapidly changing wildfire risk in order to protect Oregon communities and critical infrastructure. Executive Order 20-04 directed the PUC to evaluate wildfire protection plans and activities of regulated electric utilities to improve safety, reduce risks, and promote electric system resilience. It also directed the PUC to convene workshops to develop and share emerging best practices for mitigating wildfire risk. The PUC’s efforts to meet these directives builds on work completed last summer, including hosting of a wildfire mitigation event with utility commissions and experts from British Columbia, California, Idaho, Nevada, Washington, and Oregon to share regional best practices and expertise. Also last year, the PUC asked the regulated utilities to report on wildfire mitigation efforts. Today’s update was a follow-up to last year’s activities. “Today provided an opportunity to explore the progress and learning that has happened in the last year and understand the priorities for this fire season, a season complicated by the COVID public health emergency,” said Letha Tawney, PUC Commissioner. The utilities addressed their risk methodology, regional mitigation coordination, asset inspection, vegetation management, public safety power shut-offs, inspection and maintenance, metrics to determine effectiveness, community outreach and education, and more. Tawney added, “Our next steps will include opportunities for broader stakeholder participation and engagement, including state and local emergency planners, local governments, and communities impacted by wildfires. Additionally, the PUC will partner with all operators of electric systems throughout Oregon to further discuss best practices to better equip all utilities to effectively and continuously adapt to changing wildfire risk.” To view the presentations provided by Oregon Department of Forestry and Bonneville Power Association, and the wildfire mitigation updates provided by PacifiCorp, PGE, and Idaho Power, visit: https://oregonpuc.granicus.com/DocumentViewer.php?file=oregonpuc_cd21c23bbb16773d47212b29cc4d16b1.pdf&view=1.