1 OVA CITY OF CORONA FIRE DEPARTMENT
EST. 735 PUBLIC SAFETY WAY • CORONA, CA 92878 • (951) 736-2220 • FAX (951) 736-2497 WWW.CORONACA.GOV
1898
FIRE
2023 Independent Evaluator Report
Corona Utilities Department (CUD) Wildfire Mitigation Plan Requirement in Public Utilities Code § 8387 Evaluation
PUC § 8387(a): Each local publicly owned Assessment of Plan Requirement: CUD has electric utility and electrical cooperative shall constructed its electrical system to meet or construct, maintain, and operate its electrical exceed federal, state, and industry standards. lines and equipment in a manner that will Except for a short feed from SCE, CUD's minimize the risk of wildfire posed by those system is entirely underground, significantly electrical lines and equipment. minimizing the risk of wildfires. Areas where transformers and other equipment are located,
are properly maintained. The short feed area is
not within a very high fire severity zone or a
Tier2 or Tier 3 high fire threat district, and no
vegetation is near the equipment.
Reference: Page #8 - Section II.E
Required Elements for Wildfire Mitigation Plan
PUC § 8387(b)(2)(A): An accounting of the Assessment of Plan Requirement: CUD is responsibilities of persons responsible for properly organized as a Department within the executing the plan. City of Corona's organizational structure, reporting to the City Manager and ultimately to
City Council and the citizen of Corona
Reference: Page #12 - Section IV.A
PUC § 8387(b)(2)(B): The objectives of the Assessment of Plan Requirement: The wildfire mitigation plan. Wildfire Mitigation Plan contains appropriate objectives to reduce the probability that CUD's
electrical supply system could be the origin or
contributing source for igniting a wildfire. In
addition to improving the resiliency of the
electrical grid.
Reference: Page #10 - Section III
PUC § 8387(b)(2)(C): A description of the Assessment of Plan Requirement: CUD preventive strategies and programs to be adopted adequately identifies the eight items by the local publicly owned electric utility or undertaken in their program to prevent electrical cooperative to minimize the risk of its wildfires as it relates to their electrical electrical lines and equipment causing equipment. CUD's strategies address from pre- catastrophic wildfires, including consideration of construction and maintenance through dynamic climate change risks. deenergization.
"SERVING OUR CITY WITH PRIDE"
2 Reference: Page #14 - Section IV.D; Page
#19 - Section VI
PUC § 8387(b)(2)(D): A description of the Assessment of Plan Requirement: CUD metrics the local publicly owned electric utility identifies two metrics, fire ignitions or electrical cooperative plans to use to evaluate andElectrical Infrastructure Inspection, that it the wildfire mitigation plan's performance and will use to measure the success of the the assumptions that underlie the use of those mitigation plans. metrics. Reference: Page #2 - Section IX.A
PUC § 8387(b)(2)(E): A discussion of how the Assessment of Plan Requirement: CUD has application of previously identified metrics to identified how it will report on the metrics in previous wildfire mitigation plan performances future reports. Corona Fire has examined our has informed the wildfire mitigation plan. records and found no wildfires on property adjacent to CUD's above-ground poles.
Reference: Page #13 - Section IX.B
PUC § 8387(b)(2)(F): Protocols for disabling Assessment of Plan Requirement: Complies reclosers and deenergizing portions of the with the requirement. CUD has only one electrical distribution system that consider the recloser deployed in its electrical system, as associated impacts on public safety, as well as the system is nearly 100% underground. Once protocols related to mitigating the public safety the system is deenergized, it requires manual impacts of those protocols, including impacts on reenergization, no automated protocols. critical first responders and on health and Reference: Page #21 - Section VI.G communication infrastructure.
PUC § 8387(b)(2)(G): Appropriate and feasible Assessment of Plan Requirement: CUD has procedures for notifying a customer who may be procedures in place to notify its customers and impacted by the deenergizing of electrical lines. cooperators of public safety power outages and The procedures shall direct notification to all other outages due to system failure and/or public safety offices, critical first responders, maintenance activities. However, Due to the health care facilities, and operators of extreme minimal risk of CUD's electrical telecommunications infrastructure with premises supply facilities causing a power-line-ignited within the footprint of potential deenergization wildfire, CUD has not adopted specific for a given event. protocols for de-energizing and customer notification.
Reference: Page #21 - Section VI.H
PUC § 8387(b)(2)(E): Plans for vegetation Assessment of Plan Requirement: CUD has management. plans in place for annual vegetation
management/weed abatement activities that
meet or exceed minimum standards.
Reference: Page #20 - Section VI.D
PUC § 8387(b)(2)(I): Plans for inspections of Assessment of Plan Requirement: CUD has the local publicly owned electric utility's or identified how it will inspect and monitor the electrical cooperative's electrical infrastructure. system for both wildfire risk weather events, as well as other weather-related events that might
occur.
Reference: Page #20 - Section VI.E
"SERVING OUR CITY WITH PRIDE"
3 PUC § 8387(b)(2)(J): A list that identities, Assessment of Plan Requirement: The risk describes, and prioritizes all wildfire risks, and to the system are properly identified within the drivers for those risks, throughout the local plan. Particular risks and risk drivers are publicly owned electric utility's or electrical identified in both areas of construction cooperative's service territory. The list shall operations and maintenance along with include, but not be limited to, both of the topographic and climatological risk factors. following: Reference: Page #17 - Section V
(i) Risks and risk drivers associated with design,
construction, operation, and maintenance of the
local publicly owned electric utility's or
electrical cooperative's equipment and facilities.
(ii) Particular risks and risk drivers associated
with topographic and climatological risk factors
throughout the different parts of the local
publicly owned electric utility's or electrical
cooperative's service territory.
PUC § 8387(b)(2)(K): Identification of any Assessment of Plan Requirement: The plan geographic area in the local publicly owned identifies that the exposed area of the system is electric utility's or electrical cooperative's not within a wildfire severity zone or high fire service territory that is a higher wildfire threat threat zone. CUD worked with cooperators in than is identified in a commission fire threat identifying wildfire threat areas. At this time map, and identification of where the commission no changes are needed. should expand a high fire threat district based on Reference: Page #19 - Section V.C new information or changes to the environment.
PUC § 8387(b)(2)(L): A methodology for Assessment of Plan Requirement: CUD has identifying and presenting enterprisewide safety provided mapping showing the locations of risk and wildfire-related risk. their above-ground exposed equipment and that it is not located within the Very High Fire
Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) areas or high
PUC § 8387(b)(2)(M): A statement of how the
local publicly owned electric utility or electrical
cooperative will restore service after a wildfire.
"SERVING OUR CITY WITH PRIDE"
4 PUC § 8387(b)(2)(N): A description of the Assessment of Plan Requirement: CUD has processes and procedures the local publicly provided procedures in the plan for monitoring owned electric utility or electrical cooperative and auditing the plan, identifying any shall use to do all of the following: deficiencies with the plan, and monitoring the (i) Monitor and audit the implementation of the effectiveness of the electrical line inspection wildfire mitigation plan. program. CUD utilizes a records management (ii) Identify any deficiencies in the wildfire system to collect and track data to be analyzed mitigation plan or its implementation, and Reference: Page #23-24 - Section IX.C-E correct those deficiencies.
(iii) Monitor and audit the effectiveness of
electrical line and equipment inspections,
including inspections performed by contractors,
that are carried out under the plan, other
applicable statutes, or commission rules.
Qualified Independent Evaluator Agency: Agency Signature of the Evaluator:
C. Schmir 5.5.2023
City of Corona Fire Department Cindi Schmitz
Fire Marshal
"SERVING OUR CITY WITH PRIDE"