California’s Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety (Energy Safety) has approved Liberty Utilities’ 2025 Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP) Update, recognizing the utility’s ongoing efforts to strengthen wildfire risk reduction strategies while also identifying key areas for further refinement.
In its official evaluation, Energy Safety noted that Liberty has made meaningful progress in enhancing its wildfire mitigation framework, particularly in the areas of risk modeling and vegetation management oversight. Liberty recently introduced a new quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) component within its vegetation management program. This enhancement is designed to provide statistically valid feedback to contractors, helping improve field performance and support more consistent risk reduction across Liberty’s service territory.
The use of data-driven contractor evaluation methods aligns with a growing industry emphasis on measurable performance standards, especially in high fire-threat districts (HFTDs). By embedding QA/QC mechanisms into its UVM operations, Liberty is taking a proactive step toward ensuring that vegetation work is not only completed to spec but also contributes meaningfully to overall system resiliency.
Energy Safety outlined several areas where Liberty’s WMP could be strengthened. These include:
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Demonstrating the effectiveness of sensitive relay profiles compared to more traditional system hardening approaches. Energy Safety called for clearer justification of the use of this technology within Liberty’s grid hardening strategy.
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Providing detailed milestone timelines and evaluation criteria for new inspection pilot programs, including those involving LiDAR, infrared imaging, and drone technologies. These tools are increasingly used to enhance visibility into vegetation encroachments and asset condition but must be deployed strategically to be effective.
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Conducting cost-benefit analyses for different hardening methods, particularly in relation to the Stateline Resiliency Project, a Liberty initiative focused on improving system resilience near the California-Nevada border.
Liberty’s WMP update approval comes as part of the broader 2025 WMP review cycle, which has included decisions on several other investor-owned utilities and transmission operators. Most recently, the 2025 plan for LS Power was approved in February, while earlier approvals included PG&E, SCE, SDG&E, and Bear Valley Electric Service. The final decision in this cycle, for PacifiCorp, is expected in the coming weeks.