By Malena Carollo | Soothing
Week after mortal fires are presented through the Los Angeles County, the state regulator in charge of supervising public service companies rejected a request that would have required that California public service companies update maps that show sake.
Consumer defenders advocated more up -to -date maps that could help risk communities and impose stricted requirements for public services infrastructure within high threat areas.
The maps show the risk of a forest fire based on teams owned by the three main public service companies owned by state investors; They are separated from lime fire maps showing fuel -based fire potential in a Givven area.
Originally filed eight years ago, the maps shelter was updated as a whole. On the other hand, public service companies voluntarily have separate updates to mark areas such as fire risk, or are no longer at risk, since they determine this with internal models.
Even with the thesis additions, maps need an update, according to CAL defenders, that speed taxpayers contribute to the California Public Services Commission.
An agency proposal would have claimed updated maps and a shorter update period in the future. Originally presented in 2023 by the Office of Defenders of the Public in California, a state entity responsible for representing the interests of the consumer, received the support of the three great energy companions: the southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric and Pacific Gas & Electric. But at the end of January, the Commission voted against the proposal, with four opposition commissioners and one, which previously directed to Cal, which was recited.
“The CPUC focuses on monitoring compliance with public services companies with numerous rules and programs that direct their activities in areas of high fire threat from California,” said Adam Cranfill, spokesman for the commission. “We cannot comment today about a potential future vehicle on fire maps.”
As the researchers examine the causes of recent fires in Los Angeles County, southern California, Edison, which sings the area, has been under greater scrutiny.
The Public Services Company said in a regulatory presentation that its team can play a role at the beginning of the 799 Acres Hurst fire in the San Fernando Valley, and the company is investigating the Eaton Heter Heter Heter Eaton fire that involved alive has been involved in 14.021-Revoled Beurbed Burbeded Burbeed and separate.
Edison spokesman in South California, Gabriela Ornelas, refused to answer specific questions about the fire maps of the public service company and if the updated maps would have helped prevent or extend the recent fires or their response. In a statement read by phone, he said that the company internally reviews the risk of fire in its service area using multiple factors.
“If that analysis determines that changes in CPUC maps are justified, SCEE will present a request to modify the map with the CPUC,” he said.
The commission’s fire risk maps arose from a regulatory response to a series of fires at the end of 2007 in southern California, several of which were attributed to public service equipment. As a result, Pacific Gas & Electric, southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric, which serve the rapid majority of the state, presented maps in 2017 to identify potential areas that the equipment could cause fires.
The three utilities are required to update their maps every 10 years, but both Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison have sections of their maps from the original presentation. South California, Edison, is also looking for approval to update a part of its maps. San Diego Gas & Electric has not updated its maps since 2017.
But the defenders of Cal argued in their initial proposal of 2023 that the maps need a complete update and will be updated more frequently than once per decade. When Pacific Gas & Electric presented an update in 2023, for example, the new inclusions amounted to approximately 4.5% of its service area.
“Even its most recently needed to update,” Cal Defiralates said in his request of 2023. “This suggests that public security needs would be better if public service companies in the entire state update their mapping risk of forest fire risk every five years.”
The three utilities with mapping requirements admitted the position of California cales, which would allow utilities to update the maps based on their own internal models. In a statement, Pacific Gas & Electric spokesman Matt Nauman said the company updates its internal fire maps annually and hopes to present updated maps with the commission at the end of this year.
Mussey Grade Road Alliance, a community defense group in Ramona, retreated the proposal in May 2023 due to the discretion it would give to public services to choose what counts as risky, whom caln later defends later used.
With the mapping comes an additional regulatory scrutiny, as well as strictest requirements to inspect and caress public services infrastructure in high -risk areas.
Joseph Mitchell, from the defense group, said the maps lack sufficient modeling on how the wind affects the fires. The annual average wind in an area does not explain the significant short -term bursts that were associated with large fires recently and in the last decade.
San Diego Gas & Electric is closer to counting this, he said.
Alex Welling, spokesman for San Diego Gas & Electric, said that the public services company regularly compares its maps with “wind speeds, historical fire data, fire modeling and more.” The utility will be presented to update the maps if “identifies the need for updates,” Welling said.
“Identifying the most dangerous areas for appropriate mitigation is important and remains important,” Mitchell said.
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