Hardening the grid, reducing risks

Weather is one of the biggest concerns for electric utilities, and in recent years, the changing climate has made extreme weather events increasingly common.

Conditions on the ground are changing, and so are our plans and responses. We’re investing nearly half a billion dollars across our system in wildfire mitigation investment strategies over the coming years. With new capabilities in round-the-clock and vegetation management, we’re advancing safety today and building resilience and reliability for years to come.

Enhanced safety settings

In areas with elevated fire risk, we may place electrical equipment on more sensitive settings. 

Public Safety Power Shutoff

In response to elevated fire-risk conditions, we may proactively turn off power in specific areas.

Encroachment strategy

We closely monitor any wildfires burning near our infrastructure. If a fire poses a risk, we may execute targeted power shutdowns in affected areas to prevent damage and protect first responders.

How we're increasing safety and resilience

Hardening our infrastructure

Fire-resistant poles, covered lines and undergrounding where appropriate are just part of the story. We’re also installing advanced technology that enables real-time monitoring, remote management and more.

Data science for a safer grid

We are integrating advanced technology—including a meteorology and data science team—to deliver your power safely in all weather.

Real-time monitoring

We’re putting big data to work for a resilient system with a combination of enhanced situational awareness and new meteorology tools and teams for forecasting how weather will impact the system. 

Increased vegetation management

We're using aerial and ground patrols to identify potential hazards, removing trees before they can come into contact with lines, expanding vegetation clearance around poles and more.

We're making important upgrades across our system to build a hardened, future-ready grid. These include investments in our physical infrastructure (poles, conductors), vegetation management and advanced weather-monitoring and control technology.