Perspective

“When people complain and say, “not in my backyard,” I find it difficult to commiserate. When I see transmission towers, I see the infrastructure necessary to drive economic opportunity and prosperity. And the energy that makes everyday life easier to enjoy.”

Guidehouse’s Mackinnon Lawrence, Nick McClusky, Bill Hughes, and Joe Owens analyze survey results.

“What we do have are lessons learned to share with our peers who have wildfire risk in their service territory, or who will have it in the next five to ten years, as our environment continues to change and forces us to adapt to the conditions.”

“We must have liability caps. It may seem unachievable to change state and/or federal laws, but utilities’ exposure to these liabilities must be capped. Customers are being impacted by legal costs associated with wildfires. Unless reasonable limits are placed on wildfire liabilities, access to capital will be hampered.”

Utilities now have public safety power shutoffs and design systems with sensors, so if fire meets the line, it automatically de-energizes as fast as one-tenth of a second. Expect that arsenal to grow, even with improvements in vegetation management and undergrounding of lines.

Fifteen Guidehouse experts hit their buzzers and answer our questions: Danielle Vitoff, Peter Shaw, Amul Sathe, Ed Batalla, Jenny Hampton, Keshav Sarin, Erik Larson, Derek Jones, Debbie Brannan, Robyn Link, Latisha Younger-Canon, Nathan White, Shaun Fernando, Aditya Ranade, Steve Waller.

The challenge is to modernize these systems without imposing undue costs on consumers, balancing fiscal responsibility with the imperative for technological advancement.

A dialogue with TENTIL award winner Nino Ficca and EEI CEO Dan Brouillette.

The ambitious goals and timelines of the energy transition cannot be achieved without broadening and deepening consumer action.

While these revenue stabilization mechanisms mitigate specific risks, they also require monitoring and calibration – they are not to be set and forgotten.