Five Year Wildfire Risk Reduction Action Plan for the Electric Power Industry

The U.S. DOE and the Electric Power Research Institute convened a wildfire advisory group to bring together knowledge of ignition risks, electric utility needs, the applicability of available technology, and existing technology gaps. The outcome is a five-year action plan, containing recommendations on RD&D projects, that if completed by the year 2030, may accelerate the power industry’s ability to substantially reduce wildfire ignition risks. When reviewing this document please consider it is a snapshot in time for the years 2023 and 2024, could be obsolete by the end of the decade. The following list comprises the titles and topics for the proposed follow-on demonstrations: 1. Hybrid Undergrounding RD&D, 2. Live Downed Conductor Detection RD&D, 3. Fault Energy Reduction RD&D, 4. Advanced Inspection and Response Drone, 5. Fault and PQ Event Signature Repository, 6. Advanced and Intelligent Sensor Nodes, 7. Fire Friendly Asset Coatings and Coverings, and 8. Environmental Monitoring Action Plan.. Authors: Dorr, Douglas S. [Electric Power Research Inst. (EPRI), Palo Alto, CA (United States)]; Short, Tom [Electric Power Research Inst. (EPRI), Palo Alto, CA (United States)]; Nastasi, Doni [Electric Power Research Inst. (EPRI), Knoxville, TN (United States)]; Hampton, Nigel [Electric Power Research Inst. (EPRI), Palo Alto, CA (United States)]; Howe, William [Electric Power Research Inst. (EPRI), Palo Alto, CA (United States)]. DOE Contract: CR0000025. Subjects: 24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION; Fault; Hardening; Resilience; Wildfire