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Oregon OKs New Temporary Rules For Cutting Off Power During Wildfire Season

Chance Johnson hugs Sarah Hunter the two loaded a horse into a trailer to be evacuated north on Sept. 9 2020 in Canby, Oregon. Four wildfires continued gaining ground in Clackamas County aided by high winds.
Jonathan Levinson
Chance Johnson hugs Sarah Hunter the two loaded a horse into a trailer to be evacuated north on Sept. 9 2020 in Canby, Oregon. Four wildfires continued gaining ground in Clackamas County aided by high winds.

Oregonians may have to get used to the idea of losing power during wildfire seasons, something that became a greater possibility with the Public Utility Commission approval of temporary rules for cutting off electricity when power lines threaten to spark a fire


The temporary rules govern how investor-owned utilities should de-energize power lines during the 2021 wildfire season. Those utilities include Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, and Idaho Power. A “public safety power shut off” (PSPS) would be considered a last-resort tool to prevent wildfires and keep those already ignited from further spreading into communities when extreme and dangerous weather conditions are present.

“With the earliest officialopening to Oregon’s wildfire season in 40 years, the establishment of these rules was extremely important and timely,” Commissioner Letha Tawney said in a statement. “They are designed to help keep Oregonians safe by establishing criteria on how the utilities communicate about and coordinate during a PSPS.”

Thetemporary rules were adopted Tuesday. They increase requirements for communication and transparency between utilities and customers. That includes beginning communication and notifying customers in high-risk areas at least 48 to 72 hours in advance of an extreme weather event.

But PUC spokesperson Kandi Young said the rules do not indicate when a public safety power shut off should be implemented and what those thresholds should be when an extreme weather event occurs. She said that is up to the utility to decide as they have more knowledge about their equipment and facilities.

PacifiCorp is one of the Northwest’s biggest private utilities. Spokesperson Drew Hanson said creating those guidelines or thresholds can be difficult, but their goal is to minimize risk as much as possible.

“What we’re looking at would be extremely high winds, extreme drought conditions, so very dry fuel out there,” he said.

Ahead of these types of weather events, Hanson said the utility will send crews out to examine how the extreme weather is impacting its system. The utility would then communicate with local fire and emergency management crews to determine what types of impacts should deenergizing lines cause.

“There’s a lot of factors that go into it, so it’s not a decision we take lightly,” he said. “That’s why it’s really looked at as a last resort.”

Last year,Portland General Electric implemented its first public safety power shut off to eight high risk areas near Mount Hood during the September wildfires.

The temporary rules will remain in effect through mid-November. The PUC said will continue to work with the utilities, public safety partners, and communities to further develop permanent rules.

The PUC is expected to issue the official order early next week.

Copyright 2021 Oregon Public Broadcasting. To see more, visit Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Monica Samayoa is a reporter with OPB’s Science & Environment unit. Before OPB, Monica was an on-call general assignment reporter at KQED in San Francisco. She also helped produce The California Report and KQED Newsroom. Monica holds a bachelor's degree in Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts from San Francisco State University.