Decision Moves to CPUC for Ratification
Sacramento – The Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety (Energy Safety) today released its evaluation and approval of the Bear Valley Electric Service (BVES) 2023-2025 Wildfire Mitigation Plan?(WMP). Energy Safety’s BVES 2023-2025 WMP decision moves to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for ratification.
Energy Safety’s decision found that the BVES WMP was strong in the use of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) for asset and vegetation management inspections and multi-level data to prioritize wildfire mitigation activity. The decision also identified areas for continued improvement for future BVES WMP updates.
California’s electrical corporations are required to submit three-year WMPs, updated annually, to Energy Safety for review and approval. BVES submitted its 2023-2025 WMP in May. In August, Energy Safety issued a revision notice for the BVES WMP and accepted public review and comment. The revision notice found that Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) targets were not sufficiently supported. BVES responded to the revision notice and satisfactorily resolved this issue. In September, a draft approval for the BVES 2023-2025 WMP was released for public review and comment. Following incorporation of public input, Energy Safety released its approval of the WMP. Energy Safety WMP decisions move to the CPUC for ratification.
Energy Safety approved San Diego Gas & Electric’s WMP on Oct. 13 and Southern California Edison’s WMP on Oct. 24. There are six remaining 2023-2025 WMPs (Pacific Gas and Electric, PacifiCorp., Liberty Utilities, Horizon West, Trans Bay Cable, and LS Power) under Energy Safety review and evaluation.