Tag: Public
Public Safety Power Shutoffs: How Utilities Could Partner
The post Public Safety Power Shutoffs: How Utilities Could Partner appeared first on POWER Magazine.
Catastrophic wildfires have devastated California in recent years. This article seeks to outline a plan wherein neighboring utilities can send energy to support a utility that has shut down critical paths during wildfire mitigation efforts.
On the morning of Nov. 8, 2018, the Camp Fire erupted 90 miles north of Sacramento, California (Figure 1). This fire was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history, ultimately causing 85 fatalities.
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1. The Camp Fire as seen from the Landsat 8satellite. Source: NASA/Joshua Stevens |
The fire started under Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&E’s) 115-kV transmission line near Pulga in Butte County, and resulted in the January 2019 bankruptcy of PG&E—once the U.S.’s largest utility with annual revenues of $ 16 billion. While PG&E is the first utility to face financial ruin over its wildfire exposure, climate change could make this a cogent problem for many utilities across the nation.…
Large Public Power Systems Are Evolving [PODCAST]
The power grid is changing across the U.S. More distributed energy resources are being added every day. That brings challenges for power utilities, but also opportunities.
John Di Stasio, president of the Large Public Power Council (LPPC), which represents 27 of the largest locally governed and operated not-for-profit electric systems in the U.S., was a guest on The POWER Podcast and discussed how the changes are affecting his organization’s members.
As large infrastructure developers and asset owners, the LPPC’s members are uniquely affected by certain policies in Washington, D.C. Di Stasio, who previously served as general manager and CEO of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) from June 2008 through April 2014, said his group has been focused on tax, infrastructure, cybersecurity, environmental regulation, electrification, and grid modernization initiatives.
Di Stasio noted that the U.S. power grid was originally designed as a central station system with one-way power flow from generators to consumers. “Now, we’re looking at much more distributed generation potentially, and also the fact that two-way power flow provides some additional opportunities and capabilities for consumers, also some additional complexity,” Di Stasio said.…