AGENDA REPORT
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 9/19/2018
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Department of Water and Power
SUBJECT:
Title
City Council consideration of Resolution No. 2018-099 determining that there is no significant risk of the Department of Water and Power's electric lines or equipment causing a catastrophic wildfire.
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RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council adopt Resolution No. 2018-099 determining pursuant to Public Utilities Code Section 8387(b) that there is no significant risk of the Department of Water and Power's overhead electric lines and equipment causing a catastrophic wildfire.
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ANALYSIS:
In 2012, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) adopted three interim fire maps that designated areas of the state where stricter inspection and vegetation clearance requirements would apply to overhead utility poles and equipment. These interim maps were primarily based on generalized wildfire threat, rather than the risk of electric line-ignited fires. However, the CPUC acknowledged the need for a better map and, in the same 2012 Decision, the CPUC directed parties to develop a more precise statewide fire map that identified areas of the state at an elevated risk for electric line-ignited wildfires.
In 2016, Senator Hill introduced Senate Bill (SB) 1028 (stats. 2016) with the goal of encouraging electric utilities to adopt a performance-based plan for mitigating the risk of wildfires from electric lines and equipment. SB 1028 is separated into two basic parts: (1) a mandate for all investor owned utilities (IOUs) to develop wildfire mitigation plans, with a specified review process by the CPUC; and (2) a more limited process for publicly owned utilities (POUs), that requires the POU to identify wildfire mitigation measures if the POU governing board makes certain findings regarding fire threat risk.
SB 1028 set up a two-step process for POUs. A POU only has an ...
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