201 S. Anaheim Blvd.
Suite #1101
Anaheim, CA 92805
Tel: (714) 765-5173
www.anaheim.net
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
City of Anaheim
PUBLIC UTILITIES DEPARTMENT
DATE: JUNE 13, 2023
FROM: PUBLIC UTILITIES DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: APPROVE AND ADOPT THE ANAHEIM PUBLIC UTILITIES 2023 WILDFIRE MITIGATION PLAN, AND AUTHORIZE
SUBMISSION TO THE CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE SAFETY
ADVISORY BOARD
ATTACHMENT (Y/N): YES ITEM # 05
GOVERNMENT CODE § 84308 APPLIES: NO
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council, by Motion:
1) Approve and adopt the proposed Anaheim Public Utilities 2023 Wildfire Mitigation Plan (Proposed Plan) and authorize the Public Utilities General Manager or designees to take all actions necessary, required, or advisable to implement and administer the related actions or activities including the submission of the Proposed Plan to the California Wildfire Safety Advisory Board; and
2) Determine that the programs and projects referenced in the Proposed Plan are categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant Section 15301, Section 15302, Section 15303, and/or Section 15304 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
DISCUSSION:
At their meeting on May 24, 2023, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) recommended that the City Council approve these actions.
Anaheim Public Utilities (APU) prepared the Proposed Plan (Attachment 1) that outlines projects and programs to minimize the potential risk of wildfire posed by APU’s electrical infrastructure. Key safety and wildfire mitigation measures include 98% of APU’s electrical infrastructure already underground in high Fire Threat Zones (FTZs), vegetation management, red flag alert inspections, and preemptively de-energizing an overhead section that runs through the Oak Canyon Nature Center.
With wildfires increasing in frequency and causing significant damage throughout California, Senate Bill (SB) 901 became law in 2018, amending Public Utilities Code (PUC) Section 8387 to require all public and private utilities and corporations to assess whether portions of the geographical area where the utility’s overhead electrical lines and Approve and Adopt the Anaheim Public Utilities 2023 Wildfire Mitigation Plan, and Authorize Submission to the California Wildfire Safety Advisory Board
June 13, 2023
equipment are located have a significant risk of causing a catastrophic wildfire resulting from those electrical lines and equipment, and if so, presenting mitigation measures the utility intends to undertake to minimize that risk. PUC Section 8387 also requires annual submittal of the wildfire mitigation plan to the Wildfire Safety Advisory Board (WSAB), and that once every three years, the submittal shall be a comprehensive revision.
The Proposed Plan was prepared with the technical expertise of a professional engineering firm to review APU projects, procedures, and update related metrics. NV5, Inc. was selected from a competitive process following Council Policy 4.1 – Selection of Professional Consultants for the work from among 35 prequalified firms. NV5 has the requisite resources and experience with electric grid operations and engineering and has demonstrated success working with electric utilities and public entities in preparing wildfire mitigation plans, system hardening, and assessing impacts to customers due to wildfire-driven outages.
The Proposed Plan was developed in consultation with the Anaheim Fire & Rescue Department (AF&R) and includes preventative strategies and future upgrades to limit the potential for wildfires, and actions to be taken during elevated weather conditions for risk mitigation in FTZs. Accomplishments in 2022 include the installation of two additional wildfire cameras to bring the total number of cameras to ten (cameras were used to monitor the Jim Fire in March 2022 that burned 500+ acres in the Cleveland National Forest in eastern Orange County), a new weather station for real-time monitoring of wind speed, direction, and temperature, along with the completion of engineering designs for the undergrounding of seven remaining segments in risk-prone areas. Grant funding for the construction of the undergrounding project is being sought through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with an anticipated start of early 2024.
The Proposed Plan’s comprehensive revisions include an updated FTZ map based on the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s (CAL FIRE) most recent map of areas prone to wildfire and incorporate WSAB’s recommendation for a context table to report consistent parameters on utility size and exposure to asset-caused wildfire risk, improved weather tracking using online software, and treatment data for invasive pests weakening trees in FTZs causing higher exposure to wildfires. These revisions are additive to previous plans that have been well received by the WSAB, who commented on the 2022 plan in their Guidance Advisory Opinion for the 2023 Wildfire Mitigation Plans of Electric Publicly Owned Utilities and Rural Electric Cooperatives:
“The WSAB again commends Anaheim for an extremely well-written and comprehensive 2022 WMP, which clearly and logically lays out Anaheim’s wildfire risks and extensive program efforts to reduce those risks…” Additionally, as amended by Assembly Bill (AB) 1054 in 2019, PUC Section 8387 requires that every three years, each utility secure the services of a qualified independent evaluator with experience in assessing the safe operation of electrical infrastructure to review and assess the comprehensiveness of the Proposed Plan. As 2023 is the third year since the last independent review in 2020, APU requested proposals from prequalified technical consultants, and selected GridSME, LLC based on their experience with electric grid operations, demonstrated success working with private and publicly-owned utilities Approve and Adopt the Anaheim Public Utilities 2023 Wildfire Mitigation Plan, and Authorize Submission to the California Wildfire Safety Advisory Board
June 13, 2023
in assessing and evaluating wildfire risk from electrical infrastructure and mitigation strategies, and their methodology for auditing and reporting on compliance with evolving regulatory and legislative requirements.
GridSME has completed its review of the Proposed Plan, including a review of the risk assessment principles and mitigation strategies, and found the Proposed Plan is comprehensive and satisfies statutory requirements, as stated:
“APU’s primary goal is to construct, maintain, and operate its electrical lines and equipment in a manner that will minimize the risk of wildfire posed by those electrical lines and equipment, and ensure compliance with California PUC § 8387. Following an independent evaluation of APU’s 2023 WMP, GridSME concludes that the Plan is comprehensive and meets the requirements of PUC § 8387.”
The detailed report on the independent evaluator consultant’s findings is included as Attachment 2 and has been posted, along with the Proposed Plan, on APU’s public webpage to comply with PUC § 8387’s requirement: https://anaheim.net/6099/Public- Utilities
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
APU recommends that the City Council determine that the Proposed Plan is categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to Sections 15301, 15302, 15303, and/or 15304 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations. The Proposed Plan consists of programs and projects that will typically include replacements, repairs, maintenance, inspection, or alterations related to the existing electrical system. These activities do not have the potential to create a significant impact on the environment.
IMPACT ON BUDGET:
Sufficient funds to implement the Proposed Plan are included in APU's FY 2022/23 restricted Electric Utility fund budget. Future years are subject to City Council approval of budget appropriations.
Respectfully submitted,
Dukku Lee
Public Utilities General Manager
Attachments:
1. Anaheim Public Utilities 2023 Wildfire Mitigation Plan
2. 2023 Wildfire Mitigation Plan Independent Evaluation Report by GridSME, LLC.