OAR 860-300-0030: Risk Analysis

(1) The Public Utility must include in its Wildfire Mitigation Plan risk analysis that describes wildfire risk within the Public Utility’s service territory and outside the service territory of the Public Utility but within the Public Utility’s right of way for generation and transmission assets. The risk analysis must include, at a minimum: (a) Defined categories of overall wildfire risk and an adequate discussion of how the Public Utility categorizes wildfire risk. Categories of risk must include, at a minimum: (A) Baseline wildfire risk, which include elements of wildfire risk that are expected to remain fixed for multiple years. Examples include topography, vegetation, utility equipment in place, and climate; (B) Seasonal wildfire risk, which include elements of wildfire risk that are expected to remain fixed for multiple months but may be dynamic throughout the year or from year to year; Examples include cumulative precipitation, seasonal weather conditions, current drought status, and fuel moisture content; (C) Risks to residential areas served by the Public Utility; and (D) Risks to substation or powerline owned by the Public Utility. (b) a narrative description of how the Public Utility determines areas of heightened risk of wildfire using the most updated data it has available from reputable sources. (c) a narrative description of all data sources the Public Utility uses to model topographical and meteorological components of its wildfire risk as well as any wildfire risk related to the Public Utility’s equipment. (A) The Public Utility must make clear the frequency with which each source of data is updated; and (B) The Public Utility must make clear how it plans to keep its data sources as up to date as is practicable. (d) The Public Utility’s risk analysis must include a narrative description of how the Public Utility’s wildfire risk models are used to make decisions concerning the following items: (A) Public Safety Power Shutoffs (B) Vegetation Management; (C) System Hardening; (D) Investment decisions; and (E) Operational decisions. (e) For updated Wildfire Mitigation Plans, the Public Utility must include a narrative description of any changes to its baseline wildfire risk that were made relative to the previous plan submitted by the utility, including the Public Utility’s response to changes in baseline wildfire risk, seasonal wildfire risk, and Near-term Wildfire Risk. (2) To the extent practicable, the Public Utility must confer with other state agencies when evaluating the risk analysis included in the Public Utility’s Wildfire Mitigation Plan.