Plan Outlines Steps to Protect Customer Safety, Power Reliability and Resiliency in Light of Increased Wildfire Threat Due to Climate Change
LOS ANGELES (NOVEMBER 8, 2022)– The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is in the process of updating its Wildfire Mitigation Plan for 2023 as part of its commitment to customer safety, power service reliability, and resiliency. Updated annually, the plan describes the steps that LADWP is taking to continually mitigate the threat of wildfires posed by electrical lines and equipment.
“Safety is always our No. 1 priority,” said Martin L. Adams, LADWP General Manager and Chief Engineer. “Our Wildlife Mitigation Plan was created and is being maintained not only to comply with our obligations under the law, but also in recognition of the increased threat of wildfires in recent years due to climate change and the importance of doing our part to protect our customers and the communities we serve.”
The key objectives of LADWP’s Wildfire Mitigation Plan are to ensure public safety; minimize wildfire risks; increase collaboration with local fire agencies; and meet and exceed standards under California state law.
LADWP works to ensure public safety by minimizing sources of wildfire ignition throughout our service area, which includes the City of Los Angeles and the Owens Valley. This is accomplished by making improvements to our physical assets, operations and training.
Improving the resiliency of the power grid is another important goal. LADWP continually assesses new industry practices and technologies that will reduce the likelihood of service interruptions and improve restoration of service.
LADWP’s Wildlife Mitigation Plan recently was commended by the Wildlife Safety Advisory Board (WSAB) for the recent expansion of our public outreach efforts. WSAB also recognized LADWP for our vegetation management practices, asset information and workforce training protocols.
The 2023 Wildfire Mitigation Plan is expected to be finalized and approved in June 2023. The 2022 LADWP Wildfire Mitigation Plan can be found at www.ladwp.com/wildfireplan. LADWP welcomes comments from the public, which may be submitted via email at wmp@ladwp.com.
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