Oregon PUC approves wildlife management plans submitted by utilities

The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) approved 2022 wildfire mitigation plans (WMPs) for the three investor-owned utilities operating in the state — PacifiCorp, Portland General Electric (PGE), and Idaho Power.

The WMPs are the first to be filed since Senate Bill 762 passed last year, establishing formal standards for electric utility wildfire mitigation plans, including the information utilities must include in their plans. The plans must include identification of high-risk areas within the utility’s service territory and actions to minimize those risks, in addition to protocols for implementing public safety power shutoffs. Further, utilities need to describe how they determined which risk reduction strategies to pursue.

The utilities were required to submit their plans to the PUC by the end of 2021. PUC staff and an independent evaluator reviewed each plan to ensure they met the statutory requirements. Both PacifiCorp and PGE’s plans met the requirements, leading to approval by all three Commissioners of their WMPs and instructions to address recommendations made by the PUC in their 2023 plans.

Idaho Power’s WMP was also approved, but with conditions set by commissioners. Idaho Power was directed to resubmit its WMP by June 28, with some gaps filled in.

Specifically, the PUC is seeking from Idaho Power an explanation of their cost/risk mitigation assumptions and analysis that was completed but not described in their 2022 plan, their strategy to address these gaps in their 2023 plan, and additional data relating to specific risk areas in their Oregon service territory. Also, the PUC is seeking information on projects to be pursued in Oregon and the costs associated with those projects. I

Idaho Power was directed to work with the PUC and interested stakeholders to ensure they address recommendations made by the PUC in their 2023 plans.

“Although some of Oregon’s regulated utilities have been developing wildfire mitigation plans for years and reporting to the PUC informally, this is the first formal filing to the Oregon PUC,” Megan Decker, PUC Chair. “We recognize the enormous progress Oregon utilities have made and largely approved the plans, but also acknowledge that they need to continue to improve and adapt to meet the needs of communities and keep pace with the changing risks.”

The 2022 Wildfire Mitigation Plans for PacifiCorp, PGE, and Idaho Power are available online.