Despite facing significant wildfire risks, many U.S. power utilities have not yet implemented basic mitigation measures, posing a threat to communities and the future energy system. A new report from Stanford University’s Climate and Energy Policy Program (CEPP) highlights where these risks are most severe and where mitigation efforts are lacking.
Michael Mastrandrea, research director at CEPP, stated, “This isn’t just about power lines and vegetation. It’s about protecting homes, communities, and the integrity of our energy system in a changing world.”
The study focused on how investor-owned utilities (IOUs) across the nation are addressing the growing threat of wildfires. While some progress has been made in Western states, utilities in high-risk areas remain underprepared.
Using public data and wildfire hazard modeling, researchers categorized utility wildfire mitigation efforts into tiers. Tier 1 utilities have comprehensive plans and technical measures like fast-trip settings to reduce ignition chances. In contrast, Tier 3 utilities lack even a public plan for wildfire mitigation or safety shutoffs.
Utilities in California, Oregon, and Utah generally fall into Tier 1, while those in the Southeast, Gulf Coast, and Upper Midwest often remain at Tier 3 due to regulatory barriers and concerns over affordability.
Emerging legal trends are also impacting utilities. Recent lawsuits related to wildfires suggest that utilities could be held accountable for not proactively cutting power or upgrading equipment when necessary. The Los Angeles wildfires revealed that many plans focus on lower-voltage distribution lines while overlooking higher-voltage transmission lines.
Eric Macomber, lead author of the report and a wildfire legal fellow at CEPP said, “We can’t afford to focus only on part of the problem. We need wildfire planning that looks at the entire grid – public and private, active and inactive.”
To assess risk more accurately, Stanford used a model from the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), which considers climate conditions along with vegetation and topography to predict future severe wildfires. By overlaying utility service territories with USFS maps, researchers identified which utilities face significant threats.
Some IOUs with large territories in high-risk zones have made little progress on planning for wildfires. The analysis framework also tracks whether key mitigation elements like weather monitoring are implemented by utilities.
Avery Bick from Stanford emphasized the importance of open data: “The Forest Service maps helped us understand the wildfire hazards in these utilities’ territories… More open data on power lines would help to refine risk assessments even more.”
This white paper builds on previous CEPP work assessing wildfire challenges faced by U.S. utilities.
