Apr

06-07

Wildfire Planning + Mitigation – Virtual (Apr 06-07)

This program will bring together senior leaders responsible for wildfire planning and mitigation strategies at WEI member companies for an interactive peer to peer session. We will focus on sharing and discussing best practices around strategies for planning, operations, technology and various other tactics to mitigate and plan for wildfires.

Meet

General Details

Program Chair(s)
James McKendry, Transmission Vegetation Program Manager, Integrated Planning, BC Hydro

Program Location
Virtual Event
No travel required. All agenda times are in Pacific time.Instructions to access the virtual event will be provided to the attendee before the program.

Who Should Attend
Directors and senior leaders responsible for their energy company’s wildfire planning and mitigation strategies.

Registration Options
Member: $199 USD

Registration includes virtual access to all agenda items and digital program materials.

General Cancellation Policy
To best serve WEI members and program participants during the COVID-19 pandemic, WEI will be waiving its standard cancellation policy for this virtual program. Registrants can receive a full refund should they need to cancel their registration up to the day before the program begins.

Participation Policy
Western Energy Institute programs and events are open to energy companies (including gas production and electric generation, gas and electric transmission and gas and electric distribution utilities). Select programs and events are open to energy industry product and service suppliers. Programs and events are closed to all media representatives and to the general public. Recording is not permitted for any portion of the event.

For more information contact Jessica Grant, Program Manager at (971) 930-2032.

Agenda

All session times are listed in Pacific time.

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

8:15 AM - 8:30 AM

Virtual Help Desk + Technology Check

The room will open early with optional time for participants to get familiar with the virtual platform, test their audio and webcam, or ask questions about the agenda before we begin.

8:30 AM - 9:15 AM

Welcome + Introductions

9:15 AM - 10:30 AM

PG&E’s Effort to Underground 10,000 Miles to Reduce Wildfire Risk
Speaker(s): Jamie Martin, Vice President, Undergrounding, Pacific Gas and Electric Company

As PG&E begins its bold and ambitious 10K underground program, the company sees the opportunity to reduce risk, improve reliability and manage cost impacts to customers. This discussion will cover PG&E’s program and how it’s focused on reducing risk and lowering the cost of the underground work.

10:30 AM - 10:45 AM

Break

10:45 AM - 12:00 PM

Assessing Wildfire Risk for Utilities
Facilitator(s): David James, Wildfire Resiliency Plan Manager, Avista Corp.
Speaker(s): Mike Parlow, Team Lead - Remote Sensing Inventories, Forsite Consultants Ltd., Randy Spyksma, Senior Planner - Risk Management, Forsite Consultants Ltd., Robert LeMoine, Director, Enterprise Risk Management and Insurance, Southern California Edison

Assessing the financial risks associated with wildfire is a foundational element for a utility’s fire resiliency plan. Join us to learn from experts at Southern California Edison (SCE) and Forsite Consulting (CAN) as they explain the process for quantifying both long term risks (climate & weather patterns) and shorter term risks associated with high wind events and falling trees.

Thursday, April 7, 2022

8:15 AM - 8:30 AM

Virtual Help Desk + Technology Check

8:30 AM - 9:30 AM

Evolution of Wildfire Metrics
Speaker(s): Richie Veihl, Fire Science and Coordination Program Manager, San Diego Gas & Electric Company

What constitutes a Wildfire Metric and how success can be measured is almost as hotly contested as fire itself. This presentation will speak to the evolution of Wildfire Metrics and discuss some of the challenges faced in achieving success based on those metrics.

9:40 AM - 10:40 AM

Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings Program
Speaker(s): Eric Lamoureux, Chief, Strategy: Transmission and Distribution System Operations & Deputy Director: Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings Program, Pacific Gas and Electric Company

As part of its ongoing effort to prevent wildfires amid the state’s ongoing drought, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is expanding its use of a new wildfire prevention measure to all circuits in high fire-threat areas in 2022. Launched as a pilot in July 2021, Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings (EPSS) quickly and automatically shut off power within one-tenth of a second if the system detects a potential threat, such as a tree branch falling into a powerline.

In 2021, these enhanced safety settings reduced reportable ignitions by 80% on the EPSS-enabled circuits across more than 11,500 miles in high fire-threat districts, compared to the prior three-year average.

10:50 AM - 11:50 AM

Holistic Overview of Wildfire Risk + Roles
Facilitator(s): Bill Messner, Director, Wildfire Mitigation & Resiliency, Portland General Electric
Speaker(s): Michael Picker, Partner, Caliber Strategies, Michael Wara, Senior Research Scholar, Stanford University

After reviewing the societal wildfire risks and what role electric utilities should play, this discussion will cover questions such as: Why is this risk bigger than just utilities? Who is engaging in this discussion? Who else needs to be engaged? Why should others be engaged?

11:45 AM - 12:00 PM

Wrap Up + Future Planning

Meet The Speakers

David James

Avista Corp.

Wildfire Resiliency Plan Manager

Michael Picker

Caliber Strategies

Partner

Michael Wara

Stanford University

Senior Research Scholar

Mike Parlow

Forsite Consultants Ltd.

Team Lead - Remote Sensing Inventories

Randy Spyksma

Forsite Consultants Ltd.

Senior Planner - Risk Management

Robert LeMoine

Southern California Edison

Director, Enterprise Risk Management and Insurance

Robert LeMoine is director of Enterprise Risk Management and Insurance at Southern California Edison. LeMoine leads a team of risk managers, data scientists and subject matter experts who are responsible for identifying operational risk, verifying effective mitigation plans, performing risk assessment analysis to develop key enterprise risks and procuring all manner of insurance and other financial risk management products. The risk management team is responsible for SCE’s Risk Assessment Mitigation Phase (RAMP) filing and major portions of SCE’s Wildfire Mitigation Plan. In 2018 and 2019, Robert was a member of the project team advocating on behalf of the company on wildfire matters, including SB 901 and AB 1054.

Previously, Robert served as director of Operations, IT and Cybersecurity Audits. LeMoine also was a senior attorney in SCE’s law department, where he worked on a diverse range of issues, including General Rate Cases, the Safety Model Assessment Proceeding, the fire safety rulemaking, Catalina Gas and Water, Rule 21 interconnections, telecommunications matters for Edison Carrier Solutions, the Malibu Fire investigation and other wildfire matters, and a wide range of transmission and distribution regulatory matters.

LeMoine also served as principal manager of Maintenance and Inspection in Transmission & Distribution. Among other things, his group was heavily involved in responding to CPUC inquiries following the November 30, 2011 San Gabriel Valley windstorm. LeMoine led the team that created SCE’s pole loading program. Upon returning to the law department, LeMoine worked on the 2015 GRC and implementation of the Malibu Fire settlements, and he resumed the role of SCE’s lead attorney for the pole loading program.

Prior to joining SCE, LeMoine worked as a civil engineer and later began his career as an attorney in the Los Angeles office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP, where he specialized in complex civil litigation, including shareholder and consumer class actions and large corporate bankruptcies.

LeMoine earned his bachelor of science in civil engineering from Loyola Marymount University with honors and received one of ten Tau Beta Pi scholarships granted nationwide. LeMoine also earned his master of science degree in environmental engineering from U.C. Berkeley and a law degree from Brooklyn Law School in New York and was a visiting student at UCLA School of Law.