HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 14175
City of Palo Alto (ID # 14175)
Utilities Advisory Commission Staff Report
Meeting Date: 6/8/2022 Report Type:
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Title: Discussion and Update to the 2022 Wildfire Safety Mitigation Plan
From: Director of Utilities
Lead Department: Utilities
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the UAC receive the Wildfire Mitigation Plan Update.
Executive Summary
Each year, electric utilities are required to update their Wildfire Mitigation plans, present those
plans in a noticed public meeting, then submit the plan by July 1 to the State’s Wildfire Safety
Advisory Board.1 Staff updated the plan earlier this year, will present the plan at today’s
meeting, and intends to submit the plan in late June, pending any UAC discussion.
Background
Utilities Department Staff prepared our first Wildfire Mitigation Plan in 2019, after the passage
of a new law requiring such plans of all electric utilities. The law requires specific plan elements,
including a description of the preventive strategies used to minimize the risk of electric lines
and equipment causing catastrophic wildfires, protocols for disabling reclosers and
deenergizing when necessary, and twelve other elements. The first plan was presented to and
accepted by the City Council on January 21, 2020 (Staff Report ID 10670). The law requires an
annual update to the original plan, with a comprehensive revision at least once every three
years.2 As such, staff presented the updated plan in 2021 to the UAC (Staff Report ID 12190)
and the 2022 update is Linked Here. The redlines appearing in the update are at the request of
the Wildfire Safety Advisory Board and the plan will be submitted as such to easily show
changes.
Discussion
After submitting the 2021 updates, the Wildfire Safety Advisory Board reviewed the plans from
each utility and offered comments and suggestions for future iterations. Some comments and
suggests were intended broadly for all entities reporting and some for each specific agency;
1 See Public Utility Code 8387.
2 “Update” and “comprehensive revision” are undefined in statute. Palo Alto staff and other POUs take “update” to
mean simply bringing the original plan up to date, with few meaningful changes and “comprehensive revision” to
mean an in-depth review of each plan element, with significant changes made as needed to the original plan.
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City of Palo Alto Page 2
many of the comments directed to Palo Alto specifically were favorable.3 Below is a summary of
the key changes between the 2021 and 2022 updates:
• At the request of the Wildfire Safety Advisory Board, we moved the website placement
of the original plan and 2021 update to make it easier to find and we included the
Board’s Context Table (page 3)
• Dates of past years’ public presentations on the plan were added (page 24)
• Added more context to community outreach efforts during a fire (page 25)
• Added the Response and Communications Procedure for Public Safety Power Shutoff
(Appendix G)
• Updates made to the status of reported projects, including: the installation of a weather
station, progress on undergrounding lines, assessments for emergency back-up
generators, and more (pages 18 – 20 and Appendix E)
• General wordsmithing for clarity
Timeline and Resource Impact
This update does not have any immediate resource impact besides staff time. Ongoing and
proposed activities noted in the plan are and will be approved through the Capital and
Operating Budget process. The plan update will be submitted to the Wildfire Safety Advisory
Board by July 1, 2022, as is legally required.
Stakeholder Engagement
The annual presentation of plan iterations in a publicly noticed meeting affords an
opportunity for stakeholders to provide comments to the UAC and staff. Additionally, all
versions of the plan are posted on the Utilities Department website for public review.
Environmental Review
The UAC’s receipt of this report and presentation is not a project requiring California
Environmental Quality Act review, because it is an administrative governmental activity which
will not cause a direct or indirect change in the physical environment.
3 See “Guidance Advisory Opinion for the 2022 Wildfire Mitigation Plans of Electric Publicly Owned Utilities and
Rural Electric Cooperatives,” page 15 for one example: “Palo Alto’s proactive attention to consideration of
pumping water uphill in preparation for a potential wildfire and/or PSPS event is commendable.”
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