Although Public Safety Power Shutoffs are not part of your Co-op’s wildfire mitigation plan, they could still affect our service area.
This summer, a Public Safety Power Shutoff affected Flathead Electric Cooperative members for the first time in Northwest Montana when the Bonneville Power Administration briefly de-energized the transmission line serving Libby. Although Public Safety Power Shutoffs are not part of your Co-op’s wildfire mitigation plan, the event highlighted why members should understand what they are and how they could affect our service area.
What is a Public Safety Power Shutoff?
A Public Safety Power Shutoff, or PSPS, is a safety measure in which a utility or power provider intentionally turns off electrical equipment during extreme wildfire-risk conditions. It is used as a last resort when it’s determined that keeping equipment energized could create an unacceptable risk of starting a wildfire.
A Red Flag Warning does not automatically lead to a PSPS. Power providers consider wind, dry vegetation, humidity, terrain, equipment conditions, forecasts and field observations before deciding whether a shutoff is necessary.
Who makes the decision?
Your Co-op does not use PSPS on its local distribution system. Instead, we reduce wildfire risk by managing vegetation and hazard trees throughout the year, inspecting and strengthening equipment, monitoring conditions and using more sensitive protective settings during elevated fire danger.
However, we receive most of our electricity through transmission lines owned and operated by BPA.
BPA has sole authority to begin and end a PSPS on its system. If BPA shuts off a transmission line serving part of our system, members downstream may lose power even when our local equipment is operating normally.
Because transmission lines cross large geographic areas, a PSPS can affect a community where the weather appears calm. The concern may be located many miles away along an upstream section of the line.
While the Co-op does not use PSPS as part of our wildfire mitigation strategy, if the sheriff’s office or another partnering agency directed us to de-energize our lines due to an immediate safety concern, we would do so to help protect the public and emergency responders.
What can members expect?
PSPS conditions can change quickly. A watch or planned shutoff may be delayed, expanded or canceled as forecasts and field information change. Advance notice may be limited. A shutoff could end quickly or continue for hours or days, depending on weather, inspections and necessary repairs.
Your Co-op will share information through targeted text messages, our website, social media, local news outlets and emergency partners as soon as reliable details are available.
Members should keep their contact information current, sign up for outage texts and have a plan for essential devices, medical equipment, private wells, pets and livestock. Remember: a PSPS notice is not an evacuation notice. Always follow local public-safety officials for wildfire and evacuation instructions.
