Wildfire mitigation and innovation in vegetation management: Takeaways from the experts
Earlier this year, we hosted a webinar with three electric utility experts to talk about the role innovation plays in vegetation management plans, specifically with regards to wildfire mitigation. Below, we’ve highlighted a few of our favorite takeaways from the 45-minute webinar.
If you’re interested in learning more about how Overstory’s real-time vegetation intelligence can help with your vegetation management plans, book a demo today. You can also watch the full webinar for the unabridged conversation.
Meet the experts
In this webinar, Kate Burson, head of business development at Overstory, moderates a discussion among three industry experts:
Cody O’Neil - Vice President of Operations at Holy Cross Energy
Jeff Wissing - Vegetation Management Supervisor at Holy Cross Energy
Kevin Dasso - Former California Utility Executive, Wildfire Mitigation and Electric Ops Utility Consultant
All three panelists come from different career stages, and they’ve all worked in various capacities—both in the field and the back office—throughout their combined decades of experience. Cody O’Neil and Jeff Wissing both work for Holy Cross Energy, an Overstory partner and electrical co-op serving communities in Western Colorado, including the ski towns of Aspen and Vail.
Kevin Dasso works as an executive consultant for the electric utility industry. He brings 40 years of experience to the conversation, retiring from Pacific Gas and Electric Company in 2019 as a Vice President. Kevin is also a fellow at the University of California, Merced.
Getting ahead of increasing wildfire risk
Historically, Holy Cross Energy operated on a five-year trim cycle. This approach worked well for years, but with increased wildfire risk from factors like drought, heat waves, and bark beetle infestations, falling vegetation mid-cycle started to become a serious issue for the co-op.
Events like these are what Jeff calls “cycle busters.” And according to Jeff, the time to make a change in your vegetation management plan is when you start to notice they’re happening.
“Utilities can get trapped in an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ cliché, and that’s a dangerous place for us to operate.”
Like any organization, utilities can become stagnant or complacent with their vegetation management plans and techniques.
Instead of thinking only in terms of trim cycles, utilities should think more in terms of risk management. Where is the risk? And how can you get ahead of it?
Likewise, utility executives should expand their awareness to the challenges utilities face globally. Just because a catastrophic disaster hasn’t happened to you yet doesn’t mean it won’t.
Staying attuned to new technologies and global innovation can help you mitigate wildfire risk more effectively. You might be surprised by what new methods and innovation have sprung up within the past year—or even the past six months—when you start looking.
Four components of a wildfire mitigation strategy
When considering wildfire mitigation specifically, utilities should tackle the challenge from more than just one angle. A good wildfire mitigation strategy has four components:
Situational awareness. Understanding what’s happening on your system and how that will affect your operations, both in terms of the risks your equipment is exposed to and the fact that your equipment could start a fire. This component includes weather monitoring systems, but it’s also understanding what fire agencies are doing. As satellite imagery becomes more easily available, look too at what’s happening on the ground and consult conditions reports from fire agencies.
Vegetation management (VM). Vegetation management deals with dead or diseased trees that could fall on lines and spark a fire. It also involves identifying and proactively dealing with “problem trees”—those tree species particularly susceptible to disease that have a tendency to drop limbs.
Operational practices. Utilities usually take all steps possible to keep the power on, but Kevin also recommends having a strong reclosing strategy in place. This includes sensitizing relays and protective equipment as well as disabling reclosing when fire hazards are elevated.
System hardening. This is a long-term strategy to make the system more resilient. System hardening includes using insulated conductors, building stronger, more fire-resistant structures, and other equipment you can place on lines to make them less susceptible to conditions. Laying cables underground also falls under this component.
The role of vegetation management (VM)
Narrowing in on vegetation management, Jeff says VM used to be considered the red-headed stepchild of wildfire mitigation because it doesn’t generate revenue. That changed after the devastating wildfires of 2018, with more utilities realizing the importance of robust vegetation management.
“We have risk. How do we mitigate that risk without knowing where it is?”
Holy Cross Energy hired a line walker and received reports from line crews when they saw something. But walking a line regularly to get a full picture of the risk environment can take anywhere from 18 months to two years, and human error prevents line crews from catching every risk.
For this reason, Holy Cross Energy set a goal to transition from a cycle-based program to a risk-based one by 2025. This approach incorporates vegetation intelligence, giving the utility real time insights into conditions on the ground—a powerful capability given the severe droughts Western states like Colorado have seen in recent years.
This strategy yields notable results in other states as well.
Sho-Me Power Electric Cooperative of southern Missouri made the switch to vegetation intelligence in 2021, eliminating the need for aerial flight and drive-by issue reports. Using Overstory intelligence, Sho-Me identified the top 7 percent most concerning grow-in spots out of 1,800 miles of network, removing 64 percent more trees than they would have otherwise, without adding a dollar to their budget.
Wildfire mitigation tech:
satellite versus LiDAR
Satellite and LiDAR both offer significant advantages over line walking and issue reports, but they’re fundamentally different technologies. Understanding their differences is key to executing a successful vegetation management and wildfire mitigation strategy.
Satellite offers the widest view and is accurate within about a foot. You can manage satellite data remotely, view historical insights, and examine images captured from multiple different angles to see how vegetation management efforts have improved areas of concern.
LiDAR provides a more granular view—usually accurate within about a centimeter—so some utilities use LiDAR with satellite to take a closer look at certain areas after getting a bigger picture view from satellite.
However, LiDAR does come with some disadvantages. LiDAR requires actually flying over the area in question, usually by helicopter or by a remote-controlled drone (UAV). Depending on weather conditions and local flying ordinances and regulations, getting a drone or helicopter to fly over an area can prove difficult, not to mention the cost and safety risk involved.
Weather also impacts LiDAR’s functionality. Because LiDAR works by measuring the reflection of laser beams off objects and surfaces, weather conditions like rain and fog can prevent the technology from working properly. Satellite, on the other hand, can offer surprising precision with very high resolution (30cm per pixel) and multispectral imagery as well as stereo processing that gives you a 3D view of your T&D network. While it requires some seasonal awareness—for example, scanning when leaves on deciduous trees can more easily identify their species—it’s not as vulnerable to day-to-day weather conditions as LiDAR can be.
Some utilities see effective results using satellite and LiDAR in tandem, but for most, satellite provides the visibility and historical data to manage vegetation and get ahead of wildfire risk quickly and effectively.
Resources for vegetation management teams
Staying up to date with emerging technologies can feel like a daunting task, but our panelists recommended starting with these reliable sources to build your network and connect with industry thought leaders:
DISTRIBUTECH International Conference. DISTRIBUTECH—an annual transmission and distribution-focused conference hosted in San Diego, California in 2023—showcases the technology used to get electricity from power plants to homes and businesses. From energy efficiency to demand response and renewable energy integration, DISTRIBUTECH is a great resource to learn about the latest advances in technology.
IEEE. The IEEE is a technical professional organization that aims to advance technology through publications, technology standards, conferences, and professional and technical standards. The IEEE’s 400,000+ members represent 160 different countries, making it an excellent resource for learning how professionals from all over the world respond to wildfire risks.
Your colleagues. Expand your professional network to include vegetation management professionals from all over the country. Technology makes this easier as well—professional networking sites like LinkedIn and Meetup can be excellent resources for connecting with and learning from like-minded professionals, and some of the organizations listed here offer community forums on their websites.
Utility Arborist Association (UAA). The Utility Arborist Association is an organization of 5,000+ people who manage trees and vegetation to ensure the reliable distribution of energy to commercial and residential buildings. The UAA website is a wealth of helpful resources, from research to podcasts to webinars and newsletters.
Trade magazines. It may not be the most high-tech source on this list, but trade magazines remain a valuable source of information. Check out magazines like T&D World, Electric Light & Power, POWERGRID International, Utility Dive, and Power Engineering for the latest on the energy industry, including vegetation management.
Using vegetation intelligence to prevent wildfires
Ready to put vegetation intelligence to work? Book a demo today to get a look at the powerful technology trusted by utilities like Holy Cross Energy to keep their networks safe and reliable.