Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1) Wildfire Mitigation Plans and Updates
must, at a minimum, contain the following requirements as set forth in Section
3(2)(a)-(h), chapter 592, Oregon Laws 2021 and as supplemented below:
(a) Identified areas that are subject to a
heightened risk of wildfire, including determinations for such conclusions, and
are:
(A) Within the service territory of the
Public Utility, and
(B) Outside the
service territory of the Public Utility but within the Public Utility's
right-of-way for generation and transmission assets.
(b) Identified means of mitigating wildfire
risk that reflects a reasonable balancing of mitigation costs with the
resulting reduction of wildfire risk.
(c) Identified preventative actions and
programs that the Public Utility will carry out to minimize the risk of utility
facilities causing wildfire.
(d)
Discussion of outreach efforts to regional, state, and local entities,
including municipalities regarding a protocol for the de-energization of power
lines and adjustingpower system operations to mitigate wildfires, promote the
safety of the public and first responders and preserve health and communication
infrastructure.
(e) Identified
protocol for the de-energization of power lines and adjusting of power system
operations to mitigate wildfires, promote the safety of the public and first
responders and preserve health and communication infrastructure, including a
PSPS communication strategy consistent with OAR 860-300-0040 through
860-300-0050.
(f) Identification of
the community outreach and public awareness efforts that the Public Utility
will use before, during and after a wildfire season, consistent with OAR
860-300-0040 and OAR 860-300-0050.
(g) Description of procedures, standards, and
time frames that the Public Utility will use to inspect utility infrastructure
in areas the Public Utility identified as heightened risk of wildfire,
consistent with OAR 860-024-0018.
(h) Description of the procedures, standards,
and time frames that the Public Utility will use to carry out vegetation
management in in areas the Public Utility identified as heightened risk of
wildfire, consistent with OAR 860-024-0018.
(i) Identification of the development,
implementation, and administrative costs for the plan, which includes
discussion of risk-based cost and benefit analysis, including consideration of
technologies that offer co-benefits to the utility's system.
(j) Description of participation in national
and international forums, including workshops identified in section 2, chapter
592, Oregon Laws 2021, as well as research and analysis the Public Utility has
undertaken to maintain expertise in leading edge technologies and operational
practices, as well as how such technologies and operational practices have been
used to develop and implement cost effective wildfire mitigation
solutions.
(k) Description of
ignition inspection program, as described in Division 24 of these rules,
including how the utility will determine, and instruct its inspectors to
determine, conditions that could pose an ignition risk on its own equipment and
on pole attachments.
(2)
Wildfire Mitigation Plans must be updated annually and filed with the
Commission no later than December 31 of each year. Public Utilities are
required to provide a plan supplement explaining any material deviations from
the applicable Wildfire Mitigation Plan acknowledged by the Commission. A
Public Utility's initial Wildfire Protection Plan must be filed no later than
December 31, 2021, per section 5, chapter 592, Oregon Laws 2021.
(3) Within 180 days of submission, Wildfire
Mitigation Plans and Wildfire Plan Updates may be approved or approved with
conditions through a process identified by the Commission in utility-specific
proceedings, which may include retention of an Independent Evaluator (IE). For
purposes of this section, "approved" means the Commission finds that the
Wildfire Mitigation Plan or Update is based on reasonable and prudent practices
including those the Public Utility identified through Commission workshops
identified in SB 762, Section 2, and designed to meet all applicable rules and
standards adopted by the Commission.
(4) Approval of a Wildfire Mitigation Plan or
Update does not establish a defense to any enforcement action for violation of
a Commission decision, order or rule or relieve a Public Utility from
proactively managing wildfire risk, including by monitoring emerging practices
and technologies.
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS
757.649,
2021 Senate Bill 762, ORS
756.040, ORS
756.105 & ORS
757.035
