How wildfires are changing the U.S. electric grid

As years of destructive wildfires reshape the U.S. electric grid, utilities are shifting their focus to designing infrastructure that can withstand the increasingly fire-prone climate. This year's wildfire season is surpassing the 10-year average in both the number of fires and acres burned. The nation is embarking on one of the largest grid expansions in recent decades, coinciding with a growing wildfire risk challenge for utilities.

To prioritize resilience investments, Nadia Panossian, an electrical engineering researcher at the National Laboratory of the Rockies, suggests utilities utilize weather models, wildfire behavior data, infrastructure information, and population impacts. Undergrounding power lines can enhance resilience to various hazards, including hurricanes, winter storms, and wildfires.

However, managing aging infrastructure often proves more challenging than building new. In California, the first state to require investor-owned utilities to publish wildfire resilience plans, utilities are moving toward longer-term upgrades that account for future wildfire risks. While some California utilities experiment with microgrids, they recognize that such investments can be cost-prohibitive.

Utilities across the West conduct public safety power shutoffs to prevent catastrophic fires, and they are evaluating opportunities to incorporate wildfire resilience into grid upgrades. Utility planning involves a cost-risk trade-off, as regulators may limit investments due to cost concerns. California's wildfire planning lessons are influencing how the next generation of the U.S. grid is built as wildfire risk expands beyond the West.