The Idaho Public Utilities Commission has acknowledged Rocky Mountain Power’s 2024-2026 Idaho Wildfire Mitigation Plan. It describes the utility’s efforts to mitigate the risk of wildfires by building, maintaining, and operating electrical infrastructure to minimize the risk.
According to the plan, Rocky Mountain Power anticipates investing about $800,000 during the next two years to increase its situational awareness. The investment will fund a meteorology department and the construction of 35 weather stations in Idaho. The utility said the meteorology department and the weather stations will allow it to generate a comprehensive weather forecast and predict weather conditions for the next 96 hours.
The plan also described the introduction of Rocky Mountain Power’s Idaho Public Safety Power Shutoffs program. The utility started the program in 2023, and it allows Rocky Mountain Power to temporarily and proactively de-energize power lines during extreme weather to prevent fires from starting. The utility said it uses a Partner Safety Portal to communicate with safety partners, and that the utility communicates with impacted customers through phone calls, texts, e-mails, the Public Safety Power Shutoff webpage and a mobile app during power shutoff events.
Other subjects included in the plan are vegetation management, collaborating with other groups to increase an understanding of best practices and technologies, and system hardening designed to reduce wildfire risk. It is the first wildfire mitigation plan Rocky Mountain Power has filed with the commission.
In its order acknowledging the plan, the commission directed the utility to develop a least-cost, least-risk analysis to evaluate wildfire mitigation projects, file updated versions of the plan every three calendar years, and conduct semi-annual pre-fire and post-fire season updates for the commission, among other items.
The plan and the commission’s order acknowledging it are available at: puc.idaho.gov/case/Details/7305.
