Merlon Rushton, Regional Business Manager of Rocky Mountain Power (RMP), visited the Carbon County Commission during their regularly scheduled July 17 meeting for a brief presentation on fire mitigation.
He explained that RMP has been trying to go through the community and make everyone aware of the steps for wildfire safety and resilience the company has been making. This season is what is known as wildfire season. “I don’t know if anybody’s noticed, but it’s hot and dry,” Rushton joked.
When wildfire season comes about, the biggest goal for those at RMP is that they do not want to be the cause of, or addition to, a wildfire. There are some policies and procedures that are in place to help prevent that, and they can sometimes impact people’s comfort levels in life by taking power for certain reasons.
“When fire risk is elevated, our enhanced safety settings de-energize power lines in fractions of a second when interference is detected, significantly reducing the chance of ignition,” RMP explained. “In these situations, our crews carefully inspect and make any necessary repairs so that power can be safely restored.”
In regard to emergency de-energization, it was explained that any wildfires burning near a RMP infrastructure is closely monitored, including power lines, poles and substations. If a fire gets close to equipment, RMP will take measures to safeguard against the potential impact.
The potential impact can be safeguarded through a targeted, emergency de-energization to prevent damage to both the facilities and the surrounding environment, as well as for the protection of first responders. Attention was also turned to the Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS).
“Under certain conditions – such as high temperatures, strong winds and the presence of dry or dead vegetation – something as simple as debris blown onto powerlines can pose a wildfire ignition risk,” RMP stated. “Public Safety Power Shutoffs are a critical part of our strategy to protect surrounding areas.”
Through relying on real-time data, RMP officials assess the factors in order to determine when a temporary shutoff of power in specific areas may be necessary. These power shutoffs would be for a limited time and would aid in ensuring the safety of both RMP customers and the community.
“In these situations, we will give advance warning via various communication channels,” RMP assured. “Updates continue throughout the event. Once conditions improve, our field crews inspect and clear lines during daylight hours before safely restoring power.”
Rushton stated that RMP wants to work as a community partner while being a good steward of the community. He said that this creates a struggle all over to both provide reliable power and not cause damage, which is a fine balancing act.
To be sure that updates are going to the right place, contact information can be updated at RockyMountainPower.net/Alerts, where patrons can also sign up for alerts. Those that wish to phone-in for alerts and to update contact information, call 1 (888) 221-7070. Outage and restoration updates can be found at RockyMountainPower.net/Prepare.