Wildfire Mitigation Planning Utility and Regulatory Briefing

Several converging trends are reshaping wildfire risk management for the U.S. power sector, including:

• More frequent and severe wildfires affecting regions well beyond the Western U.S.;
• Rapid expansion of the wildland–urban interface (WUI), increasing exposure of people, assets, and property value;
• Rising public safety expectations and regulatory scrutiny around utility accountability, planning rigor, and customer protections; and
• Growing financial and liability stakes, including credit risk, insurance pressures, and “pay now vs. pay later” economics.

For electric utilities, wildfire is no longer a seasonal operational issue—it is a year-round resilience, public safety, and governance challenge. Utilities are being asked to demonstrate that investments reduce ignition and consequence risk, that de-energization strategies protect customers when necessary, and that planning processes are transparent, defensible, and continuously improving.

Summary

Utility and Regulatory Strategies for Mitigating Wildfire Risk is an ongoing reference document for utilities and regulators. It synthesizes leading practices and real-world lessons across the full wildfire mitigation lifecycle, including:

• Understanding and assessing wildfire risk (data, mapping, modeling, and risk frameworks);
• Developing and implementing Wildfire Mitigation Plans (WMPs), including what “good” looks like and how plans mature over time;
• Designing and executing PSPS with clear thresholds, operational readiness, and customer-centered communications;
• Justifying mitigation investments and communicating cost-risk tradeoffs, including risk-spend efficiency concepts and avoided-loss framing; and
• Evaluating the role of emerging technologies that support detection, grid monitoring, modeling, and decision support.

The report includes checklists, maturity worksheets, and regulator-focused questions to support benchmarking, oversight, and continuous improvement. It will be updated periodically and supplemented with companion resources as policy, technology, and utility practices evolve.

Authors:

• Jared Leader, Senior Director, Resilience, Research & Industry Strategy, SEPA
• Weston Dengler, Senior Analyst, Research & Industry Strategy, SEPA
• Eric Liu, Resilience Intern, Research & Industry Strategy, SEPA

With Additional Contributions from Members and Peer Reviewers:

• Andrew Dressel, Charles River Associates
• Arvind Satyam, Pano AI
• Cody O’Neil, Holy Cross Energy
• Eric Macomber, Stanford Law
• Indy Ratnathicam, Technosylva
• Jeffrey Sward, Rocky Mountain Institute
• Justin Cruise, Rappahannock Electric Cooperative
• Kurt Tsue, Hawaiian Electric
• Lisa Shwartz, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• Mishal Thadani, Rhizome
• Renata Bakousseva, Pacific Gas & Electric
• Riaz Mohammed, Xcel Energy