Power shutdown program imminent

A program that will see Black Hills Energy (BHE) shut off power to high-risk fire areas during “extreme weather conditions” will be in place by the middle of the summer, a Black Hills Energy official says.
Lynn Kendall, regional public affairs manager for BHE, said if the power is shut off through a program called Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) in those areas it will remain off until conditions improve.
“If a power line is proactively de-energized during a Public Safety Power Shutoff, Black Hills Energy will not turn the power back on until the weather conditions leading to high fire risk has passed, conditions are safe and crews have visually inspected the line,” Kendall said. “This process may result in outages lasting a few hours or a few days, depending on possible damage to the system.”
Kendall did not provide a timeline for how long it would take for crews to inspect a line after it is shut down.
Through PSPS power is shut off to high risk fire areas “selectively and proactively,” with that decision made, Kendall said, by leveraging criteria similar to other electric utilities in the industry, which generally include a combination of wind gusts speeds ranging from 45-55 and low relative humidity.
Kendall said based on the generalized industry factors of wind gust speed range and relative humidity indicators, along with multiple years of historical weather data in the Black Hills Energy South Dakota service territory, the combinations of wind gust speeds and low relative humidity would have ocurred around three times a year, historically. Of course, Kendall said, the comparison is general in nature and cannot be used to predict the future.
Kendall said BHE believes the program is a necessary and critical tool for wildfire prevention and mitigation, particularly for utilities with high fire risk areas.
“The goal of PSPS is to prevent electric facilities from becoming a source of wildfire ignition,” she said.
Kendall said each event will be circumstance dependent, and that this type of program is not unique to BHE and is “consistent with the direction being pursued by the electric utility industry and particularly a number of western electric utilities.”
Custer County officials—and now officials in other counties—have expressed concern about the program, openly questioning its affects on those who need electricity for breathing apparatuses or other medical devices, businesses relying on point of sales devices, refrigeration, computers, etc., as well as air conditioning and other needs.
Kendall said BHE is launching a “comprehensive public education campaign” beginning in June that will include social media, email, media outreach, printed materials, community events, bill messages, etc. There will also be a PSPS section on BHE’s website, which will include information about the program, an expanded outage map to show PSPS related outages and a PSPS event page with real-time updates during an event.
Before activating a PSPS, Kendall said, BHE will notify community partners and emergency response agencies days in advance that weather conditions could potentially trigger a PSPS.
“When possible, we will aim to provide advance notice to customers in impacted areas between 24 and 48 hours before a potential shutoff,” Kendall said.
Kendall said public  notifications will occur through a variety of notification methods to include social media, press releases, website updates and text messaging.
If you’re wondering if Black Hills Electric Cooperative (BHEC), which also provides power in the area, is also planning to implement a PSPS program, the answer is no.
Michelle Fischer, BHEC director of communications & members services, said historical data indicates utility infrastructure has accounted for less than 3 percent of local wildfire ignitions in the past 25 years.
“We continue to invest in vegetation management, targeted system upgrades, and early risk detection to reduce the chance of wildfire-related outages,” Fischer said. “We recognize the serious impacts of outages on vital services such as water systems, medical devices and emergency communications. Our approach emphasizes maintaining reliable power while mitigating risk.”
Fischer said over the past three years, BHEC has  carefully evaluated whether implementing PSPS is appropriate for its system.
“After thorough analysis, and as outlined in our formal wildfire mitigation plan, we have determined that proactively shutting off power is not in the best interest of our members at this time,” she said. “We remain engaged with industry partners and regularly assess wildfire response practices, including PSPS, to ensure we are taking the most responsible steps for our region. Should our approach evolve, our members will be informed without delay.”
Back at BHE, Kendall encourages customers to make sure their contact information is current so they receive safety alerts. Customers who have an email and phone number on file will automatically be enrolled to receive PSPS notifications. Customers will be directed to visit blackhillsenergy.com/my-account or to call 1-888-890-5554.