Due to California’s devastating wildfires, PG&E has expanded its Public Safety Power Shutoff Program (PSPS) to de-energized lines connecting NID’s generation facilities. The loss of power to NID facilities requires the sites to be staffed per Federal operating requirements, which caused a significant amount of overtime and a strain on staff. As these outages are becoming more regular, NID called upon IEC to assess the situation and provide recommendations. IEC reviewed the regulatory requirements, evaluated the operational, economic and non-economic impacts of the power outages, and provided technical, operational and financial based recommendations for the addition of emergency standby power. IEC also used our excellent relationships with other operators (PCWA, EID, SMUD, NCPA, PG&E) in the region to perform a best practice survey. The recommendations allowed NID to move forward with a clear path of preparedness.

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