Wildfire Mitigation and PSPS Town Halls
Please join Liberty Utilities at our upcoming virtual Town Halls. Learn more about what Liberty is doing to limit wildfire risks and our PSPS plan.
Catastrophic wildfires have become all too common in California. To mitigate the risk of wildfires in the communities we serve, Liberty Utilities is taking aggressive steps to keep you and your family safe.
Liberty Utilities is acutely aware of the significant fire risk in the Lake Tahoe Basin and surrounding forested areas that make up its service territory. Drought and bark beetle infestation have devastated portions of our local forest, slowly suffocating the life out of the trees that dot our landscape. These dying trees now serve as ideal fuel for the wildfires that threaten our community’s safety.
Here are a few steps Liberty Utilities is taking to protect you and your family:
Please join Liberty Utilities at our upcoming virtual Town Halls. Learn more about what Liberty is doing to limit wildfire risks and our PSPS plan.
A Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPSP) is the process by which an electric utility proactively turns off power in certain areas where weather conditions create a high wildfire risk. In the event that a PSPS is a possibility, Liberty Utilities will alert customers, local government and safety agencies of the potential need to shut off power and keep the community apprised as weather conditions evolve. Customers are encouraged to follow the utility on Twitter (@LibertyUtil_CA) and Facebook (@LibertyUtilitiesLT) to receive timely updates on power outages.
We encourage customers to make sure their account contact information is accurate to ensure they receive timely notifications about outages, including a PSPS event. To update contact information call 1-800-782-2506 or click HERE.
Infrastructure hardening is an ongoing system infrastructure improvement and replacement process aimed at lowering the potential of fires sparked by electric infrastructure.
Liberty Utilities’ crews are deployed year-round throughout the region to inspect trees and vegetation in the vicinity of power lines. In order to comply with state law and safety best practices, any trees or branches that have grown too close to power lines will be trimmed or removed to mitigate any wildfire risk.
Liberty Utilities has increased its vegetation management program investment from $2.3 million to $4 million annually to ensure all trees and vegetation near power lines are trimmed or removed within the appropriate time frame.
When trees are identified for trimming, crews are instructed to prune branches and vegetation back to a minimum of 12 feet from the high voltage power lines to ensure adequate clearance is maintained over the maintenance cycle period. Crews will additionally identify any trees for removal that are dead, diseased or structurally unsound, despite being within the acceptable clearance zone, if they have the potential to fall on power lines.
Customers should never attempt to conduct the tree trimming activities themselves, due to the risk of coming in contact with power lines during the process.
Liberty Utilities offers complimentary tree-trimming services to customers who believe a tree or branch may be hazardous to nearby electric infrastructure. If you spot a tree or branch you feel may be a hazard, submit a tree trimming request HERE or call 530-546-1787.
For mor information about our Fire Mitigation plan please click below:
2020 WMP Attachment 5 Table 07 2015-2018
2020 WMP Attachment 5 Table 07 2019
2020 WMP Attachment 5 Table 09 2015-2018
2020 WMP Attachment 5 Table 09 2019
2020 WMP Attachment 5 Narrative Tables 2,5,7,9
2020 WMP Attachment 5 Section 4.1
2020 WMP Attachment 5 Section 4.2