Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee examines impact of wildfires on electric grid
The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a hearing on Dec. 19 to discuss the impacts of wildfires on the reliability of the U.S. electric grid.
During her opening remarks, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), chairman of the committee, discussed last year’s Camp Fire in California.
“The Camp Fire was a sobering wakeup call on the inherent risk of maintaining thousands of miles of above-ground power lines across fire-prone landscapes,” Murkowski said. “This challenge is not limited to California, however. My home state of Alaska has seen more than 300 power line fires in the past eight years. The danger is in the fact that power lines are located near homes, schools, and businesses. Climate change, drought, insect infestation, and poor forest management have made forest landscapes more susceptible to fire, particularly in the West.”
The hearing included discussion of utilities’ use of public safety power shutoffs, vegetation management, and advanced technology to mitigate wildfire risk and enhance energy infrastructure resiliency in high fire-risk areas during extreme weather conditions.
