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Washington Revised Code Title 76. Forests and Forest Products § 76.04.185. Electric utility wildfire mitigation plan

Current as of January 01, 2025 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(1) The department, in consultation with the energy resilience and emergency management office of the department of commerce, shall contract with an independent consultant with experience in developing electric utility wildfire mitigation plans to develop an electric utility wildfire mitigation plan format and a list of elements to be included in electric utility wildfire mitigation plans. When developing the plan format and list of elements, the department shall seek input from the utilities and transportation commission, the utility wildland fire prevention advisory committee, electric utilities, the state fire marshal, the governor's office of Indian affairs, and the public. By April 1, 2024, the department shall make public a recommended format and list of elements for electric utility wildfire mitigation plans. The department may update these guidelines annually if needed, but not more than once in each year.

(2) The recommended elements must acknowledge that utilities serve areas that vary in topography, vegetation, population, and other characteristics, and that best practices guidelines within each element must recognize that a utility's wildfire mitigation measures will be designed to fit site-specific circumstances. The recommended elements must include, but are not limited to:

(a) Vegetation management along transmission and distribution lines and near associated equipment;

(b) Infrastructure inspection and maintenance repair activities, schedules, and recordkeeping;

(c) Modifications or upgrades to facilities and construction of new facilities to incorporate cost-effective measures to minimize fire risk;

(d) Preventative programs, including adoption of new technologies to harden utility infrastructure;

(e) Operational procedures;

(f) Identification of appropriate widths for vegetation management and rights-of-way, including the consideration of fire-resistant vegetation alternatives; and

(g) Public and interested parties' engagement and communication plans addressing wildfire safety and risk mitigation.

(3) The recommended format and list of elements identified by the department must be forwarded to the utilities and transportation commission, the energy resilience and emergency management office of the department of commerce, and all electric utilities in Washington state for a review period of no less than three months prior to finalizing the format and list of elements that utilities will use to adopt or update their electric utility wildfire mitigation plan.

(4) The department will provide technical assistance to all electric utilities to support inclusion of these guidelines in the revision of their plans.

(5) By December 31, 2024, the department must submit to the appropriate committees of the senate and house of representatives a compilation and summary of existing wildfire mitigation plans maintained by electric utilities.

(6) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(a) “Consumer-owned utility” means a municipal electric utility formed under Title 35 RCW, a public utility district formed under Title 54 RCW, an irrigation district formed under chapter 87.03 RCW, a cooperative formed under chapter 23.86 RCW, or a mutual corporation or association formed under chapter 24.06 RCW, that is engaged in the business of distributing electricity to more than one retail electric customer in the state.

(b) “Electric utility” means a consumer-owned utility or an investor-owned utility as defined in this section.

(c) “Investor-owned utility” means a corporation owned by investors that meets the definition of “corporation” as defined in RCW 80.04.010 and is engaged in distributing electricity to more than one retail electric customer in the state.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Washington Revised Code Title 76. Forests and Forest Products § 76.04.185. Electric utility wildfire mitigation plan - last updated January 01, 2025 | https://codes.findlaw.com/wa/title-76-forests-and-forest-products/wa-rev-code-76-04-185/

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