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As the British Columbia Utilities Commission reviews FortisBC's new plan to shut off power in some areas of the Southern Interior if wildfire risk becomes extremely high, the utility says the plan would only be implemented on rare occasions.
Last month, Fortis announced a new “Public Safety Power Shutoff” policy, which would see electricity cut to areas like Princeton, Hedley, Keremeos, Rock Creek and Greenwood if conditions became too hot, dry and windy, to “reduce potential ignition sources during periods of extreme wildfire risk and high sustained wind speeds.”
But after pushback from the Town of Princeton, the BCUC ordered FortisBC to suspend the rollout of its Public Safety Power Shutoff policy until the regulator can review it.
Fortis filed additional information with the BCUC this week about the proposed policy, including what conditions would be needed for power to be cut.
The decision to cut power to an area could be made if a Fire Weather Index becomes greater than 47 and sustained wind speeds are forecast to reach more than 75 km/h.
“This is beyond a typical hot, dry summer day within those areas at greatest risk of wildfire within FortisBC’s service area,” Fortis said in a press release.
“In fact, a review of historical weather data in these areas at greatest risk of wildfire over a ten-year period found only one occurrence of weather conditions that would have met the criteria for a PSPS event.”
Fortis says before cutting power to an area, other factors will also be considered, including “alternative mitigation strategies and input received from public safety partners, local and provincial governments, Indigenous communities and critical infrastructure providers.”
Having filed the policy with the BCUC by the May 20 deadline, Fortis is now waiting for the regulator to review it. It's not clear when that review may be completed, but Fortis plans to hold public information sessions about the proposed policy in June in places that will be impacted.
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