Public Safety Poer Shutoffs (PSPS) Decision Support Tool

A public safety power shutoff (PSPS) is implemented by utilities in accordance with regulations to protect public safety. In fact, a PSPS is a proactive de-energization of distribution and transmission lines or equipment as a measure of last resort to reduce wildfire risk. The purpose of PSPS is to mitigate the risk of utility infrastructure contributing to wildfire risk by proactively de-energizing facilities. We are developing a decision support tool that assist utilities to make better decisions. The purpose is to mitigate public impact risks of PSPS by keeping shared community resources (i.e., health facilities, gas stations, grocery stores) in select high fire thread district (HFTD) towns energized during PSPS. This is achieved by sectionalizing a small portion of the grid, typically around a commercial corridor with significant hardscape and little vegetation. The probability and consequences of successful planning and implementation of these actions impact the risk profile. The decision support tool assist decision makers by providing consequences and risk curves for different possible decision scenarios.