2018 Ferguson Fire in Mariposa County 
Photo credit: USDA

December 2, 2020 - Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley on Tuesday introduced new legislation to incentivize utility companies to do more to reduce wildfire risks as aging power infrastructure ignite wildfires in Oregon and across the West.

(Left) Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon)

Wyden and Merkley's Wildfire Resilient Power Grid Act of 2020 would ensure power companies do their part to reduce the risk of wildfires through power system upgrades such as the undergrounding of power lines, fire safety equipment installation and proper vegetation management.

"First and foremost, this is a public safety issue. Fire after fire ignited this summer because the aging power grid could not withstand a major windstorm during the season's hottest and driest days," Wyden said. "Many utility companies are already working to improve the resiliency of their power grid, but the sheer costs of these investments must not come at the expense of rural utility customers. Congress must do all that it can to stop the catastrophic wildfires decimating the West, and that means improving rural infrastructure. By partnering with utilities around the country, we can increase wildfire mitigation efforts at a modest cost — a fire prevention investment that will pay dividends by saving lives, homes and businesses."

“When this year’s unprecedented wildfire event hit, I drove hundreds of miles across our state to see the damage firsthand and to hear directly from impacted communities, so that I could go back to D.C. and work for the solutions they need,” said Merkley. “What I saw was apocalyptic—and we have to do everything we can to reduce the risk of this happening again. That means we have to work with our power companies to get critical upgrades and safety investments into place as quickly as possible.” 

The Wildfire Resilient Power Grid Act of 2020:

• Establishes a $1 billion-per-year matching grant program for power companies through the Department of Energy to reduce the risk of power lines and grid infrastructure causing wildfires.  
• Gives special priority to smaller, rural electric companies to ensure mitigation efforts are targeted to forested rural areas. 
• Promotes proven methods for reducing wildfire risks, including undergrounding of lines, installing fast-tripping protection systems, and constructing weather monitoring stations to respond to electrical system fire risks. 
• Provides for hardening of overhead power lines and installation of fault location equipment where undergrounding of power lines is not a favorable option. 
• Ensures fuels management activities of power companies are carried out in accordance with Federal, State, and local laws and regulations.  
• Requires power companies to have “skin in the game” by making the program a 1-to-1 matching grant, with an exception for smaller utilities where the matching requirement is one third of the grant. 
• Delivers accountability on the part of utilities and the Department of Energy by generating a report every two years on efforts conducted under the grant program.
  Source: Senator Ron Wyden