Assess and Reduce the Risk of Electric Power Lines Igniting Wildfires

Devastating wildfires have become a common occurrence in recent years. When new wildfires are sparked, electric utilities are often blamed, and face lawsuits and settlements in the millions of dollars as a result. Electric utilities must work to reduce the risk of their lines igniting wildfires through strategic risk assessment and reduction strategies.

This webinar introduces concepts that are important for electric utilities to consider when evaluating the risk of power lines igniting wildfires in their service area. While traditional vegetation management practices keep nearby vegetation at bay, recent wildfires show that simple vegetation removal cannot eliminate the risk of wildfires.

It is essential that electric utilities consider other factors in their wildfire risk evaluation models, including ambient temperature, environmental conditions, vegetation properties, and fault duration. Wildfire ignition risk reduction focuses on minimizing energy transfer from power lines to nearby vegetation through enhanced protective relay settings and automatic reclosing options.

Webinar attendees will gain insights into:

• Environmental conditions that reduce ignition time of dry vegetation.
• Dynamic protective relay settings that change with wildfire risk.
• Temporary changes to reclosing practices when wildfire risk is high.
• Recommended values for arc resistance in arc flash calculations.
• Recommended values for tree trunk and tree branch resistance during accidental contact conditions.
• And more!

Attendees will also learn how Prescient’s wildfire risk assessment services not only help electric utilities reduce their risk of power line-ignited wildfires, but also enhance wildfire insurance eligibility and prepare for wildfire ignition allegations.

Presenter: Tony Sleva, PE, LSM-IEEE, President of Prescient Transmission Systems.

Tony Sleva has more than 50 years of professional experience in the electric utility industry as an engineering manager, electrical engineer, project manager, forensic investigator, and research engineer. He has authoredProtective Relaying textbooks and served as an Adjunct Instructor at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s School of Continuing Education for more than 25 years. He has designed and performed wildfire risk reduction assessments for electric utilities.