Chelan PUD prepares for future wildfire power shutoffs as fire risks grow

WENATCHEE — Chelan County PUD is preparing for a future in which utilities across the West may increasingly face a difficult choice during extreme weather events: turn the power off before a wildfire starts, or risk catastrophe.

During Chelan PUD’s annual Strategy Partners meeting at the Confluence Technology Center on May 5, General Manager Kirk Hudson described wildfire as the single greatest threat facing modern public utilities and outlined the growing array of operational changes the utility has already implemented in response.

“This is the biggest risk to utilities right now,” Hudson said. “There is no other risk that’s bigger than this one.”

Hudson said wildfire danger has fundamentally changed how utilities operate electrical systems across the West, particularly as hotter temperatures, drier conditions and more severe wind events increase the likelihood that damaged power equipment could ignite fast-moving fires.

“When a wildfire starts and it’s caused by a utility, it’s very difficult for a utility to recover, and that can happen overnight,” Hudson said.

Chelan PUD has spent the last several years developing what utilities call a Public Safety Power Shutoff program, or PSPS, designed to proactively de-energize electrical lines during the most dangerous fire conditions.

Hudson said the utility monitors a detailed dashboard incorporating weather data, relative humidity, wind speeds and available firefighting resources throughout fire season.

“It’s got to be a pretty extreme event for us to shut the power off,” Hudson said.

The utility has not yet experienced conditions severe enough to trigger a shutoff under the system’s current thresholds, but Hudson said the utility would act if those thresholds are met.

“If it hits the thresholds, we’re going to turn the power off,” he said.

Hudson emphasized that the goal is to prevent fires before they start.

“The thing that we have to remember is a fire hasn’t started,” he said. “The idea is it will prevent one from starting.”

The conditions required for such a shutoff would likely include temperatures above 100 degrees, very low humidity and strong winds. Chelan PUD also factors in whether firefighting resources such as helicopters, air tankers and ground crews are already committed elsewhere.

The utility is also changing how its electrical protection systems behave during periods of high fire danger.

Under normal conditions, power lines are designed to automatically attempt to restore service after brief interruptions. If a tree branch or bird contacts a line, protective devices may quickly shut the line off and then automatically re-energize it moments later if the fault disappears.

Hudson said many customers recognize that process as the familiar “three flickers” before a sustained outage.

During severe fire conditions, however, Chelan PUD can disable those automatic reclosing functions.

Instead of attempting to automatically restore power, the line remains de-energized until crews physically inspect the equipment to ensure nothing remains in contact with the line that could create sparks or ignite vegetation.

Hudson said Chelan PUD initially applied those settings seasonally across entire portions of the system, but later developed a more dynamic approach that adjusts automatically based on real-time weather conditions.

The utility now automates portions of that process so customers are not subjected to unnecessary outages during lower-risk periods while still increasing protection during dangerous events.

Hudson said Chelan PUD has spent years trying to reduce wildfire risk while minimizing unnecessary outages for customers during lower-risk conditions.

The utility is also hardening portions of its infrastructure in some of Chelan County’s most fire-prone areas.

Hudson said Chelan PUD is converting some transmission corridors from wood poles to steel poles in an effort to improve survivability if a wildfire burns through the area.

The utility is also studying broader resiliency strategies in partnership with community organizations.

During the meeting, representatives from regional organizations discussed developing community resilience hubs capable of providing charging stations, communications access and limited emergency support during major outages or fire events.

Hudson said Chelan PUD is increasingly focused not only on preventing fires started by utility equipment, but also on maintaining reliable infrastructure during large regional wildfire emergencies regardless of ignition source.

At the same time, Hudson acknowledged that utilities across the West are struggling with rising wildfire liability and insurance costs.

Chelan PUD has supported legislative efforts allowing public utilities to join captive insurance groups — cooperative risk-sharing organizations that allow utilities to collectively access specialized reinsurance markets typically unavailable to individual public utilities.

Hudson credited state Rep. Mike Steele’s ongoing efforts on behalf of Chelan PUD with helping utilities secure authority to participate in those arrangements.

“Representative Steele did a great job helping us get the authority to join the captive insurance,” Hudson said.

Hudson stressed that the utility’s wildfire planning philosophy is rooted in acting before disaster forces change.

“Our summers are not near as enjoyable as they used to be,” Hudson said of utility leadership monitoring wildfire conditions.

For Chelan PUD, he suggested, the future of utility operations increasingly depends on anticipating risk early enough to avoid catastrophe altogether.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media