Top questions about our wildfire safety practices 

The safety of the public and our employees is our number one priority. The new PSPS policy is part of our ongoing efforts to reduce wildfire risk. In recent years, we have seen greater wildfire activity and more extreme weather events in British Columbia, including in our electricity service area. We’re introducing a PSPS policy in response to escalating effects of extreme weather, recent devastating wildfire activity and evolving industry practices to prevent risk of wildfire.

We work year-round to protect our customers and the communities we serve from the risk of wildfire. We know that losing power is disruptive, and we don’t take the decision to implement a PSPS lightly. That’s why we take extensive steps to reduce potential wildfire risks before considering turning off power.

Proactive measures we take to reduce the risk of wildfire include:

• Design and construction. We regularly upgrade equipment and structures to strengthen our system and reduce wildfire risk.
• Inspection and maintenance. Vegetation management and inspections help maintain safe operations and reduce contact between infrastructure and vegetation.
• Wildfire preparedness training. Our employees receive training to ensure they can safely respond to wildfire threats near our infrastructure.
• Wildfire risk monitoring. Our teams use interactive tools to help assess wildfire risks around our electricity infrastructure, improving decision-making and response readiness.
• Power line safety settings. When wildfire risk is high, we turn on enhanced safety settings to help reduce the risk of wildfires. For example, we adjust the sensitivity of our equipment to turn off power faster than our standard setting. Instead of letting our system restart the power line itself, we will check the line manually. This way, we can ensure it is safe to restore power.
• Active wildfire preparedness and response. During active wildfires, we may shut off power in consultation with local fire authorities. We work to maintain power to critical infrastructure such as water delivery systems where possible. We may also apply fire suppressant and fire blankets to protect our equipment.

While weather conditions can change quickly, we will provide as much advance notice as possible of a PSPS event, and will provide updates during and after a PSPS event. We’ll provide updates throughout the outage by email, alerts on our homepage, on social media and via Alertable.

You can stay up to date on future and current power outages on our outage map.

Keeping the power on for our customers is always our priority. However, when wildfire risk is extreme, we will carefully consider a number of factors to decide whether to implement a PSPS event to reduce potential ignition sources. A PSPS event is a tool of last resort.

The decision to implement a PSPS event will be made based on a careful monitoring of fire risk conditions that include:

• a Fire Weather Index of 47 or more (a rating of more than 30 is considered extreme¹)
• sustained wind speeds over 75 kilometres per hour

¹Natural Resources Canada, Fire Weather Index, Interactive Map.

A PSPS event would be rare. We looked at extreme weather in the parts of our service area with the greatest wildfire risk. In the past 10 years, we found only one instance when the weather would have met the criteria for a PSPS event.

During a PSPS event we will continue to monitor wind and the Fire Weather Index. Once these conditions are back to acceptable levels, we’ll inspect the system, and if everything is safe, we’ll begin restoring power.

We’ve consulted with industry experts to help us identify which areas within our electric service territory have the greatest wildfire risk, based on evidence-based factors such as proximity to wildfire-prone areas and weather conditions.

This includes:

• Regional District of Kootenay Boundary: Midway, Greenwood, Beaverdell, Christian Valley, Westbridge, Rock Creek, Bridesville and Mount Baldy.
• Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen: Princeton (rural), Hedley (rural), Tulameen, Coalmont and Apex.

Additional rural communities and properties in these regions could experience a PSPS event, including west Keremeos. As wildfire safety practices continue to evolve, we may add or remove areas based on risk assessments.

Our primary focus is to keep the power on and support the communities we serve. We understand the vital role electricity plays in protecting vulnerable populations, including seniors, individuals with medical conditions and critical infrastructure.

Safety remains our top priority. When fire risk conditions meet the criteria for a PSPS event, we do not make that decision lightly. Every action is based on careful monitoring of fire risks, alongside many other factors—including input from public safety partners.

If you or your family depend on power for medical needs, please reach out to our customer service team at 1-866-436-7847 to register as a vulnerable customer. In the event of a PSPS event in your area, we will attempt to contact you directly by phone and provide additional advance notice, where possible. You can also add a second person you want us to contact, in addition to yourself, in the event we need to shut off your power.

If you or your family depend on power for medical needs, please reach out to our customer service team at 1-866-436-7847 to register as a vulnerable customer. In the event of a PSPS event in your area, we will attempt to contact you directly by phone and provide additional advance notice, where possible. You can also add a second person you want us to contact, in addition to yourself, in the event we need to shut off your power.

Power outages can happen at any time and for a variety of reasons such as storms, motor vehicle accidents, trees falling on power lines and wildfires, so it’s important to always be prepared to be without power for up to 72 hours or more.

Similar to other power outage scenarios, customers are responsible for any losses incurred, such as loss of food. We recommend taking precautions to protect your food during outages, such as keeping refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible.

We’ve been in contact with regional telecommunications companies to make them aware of our PSPS policy and ensure they are prepared for longer outages. They’ve told us they have enough backup power and are ready for outages at any time. The length of an outage can vary depending on several factors. We’re encouraging all businesses to have a continuity plan in place.

Several electric utilities across Canada and the Pacific Northwest have introduced PSPS policies.

In Alberta, FortisAlberta and AltaLink have introduced PSPS to their customers.

In Washington State and Oregon this includes Puget Sound Energy, Pacific Power, Chelan County Public Utility District, and Avista. Areas covered by these utilities include communities directly south of the border.

In B.C., we have seen greater wildfire activity and more extreme weather events, and we continue to evolve our wildfire safety practices to address these risks. PSPS is the next step in our wildfire safety practices to help keep you and your community safe.

While our electricity system is safe and reliable, power outages can happen at any time for a variety of reasons such as storms, maintenance or wildfires. Being prepared is key to keeping yourself and your family safe. We encourage everyone to have an emergency plan and enough supplies to sustain themselves for a minimum of 72 hours. This includes essentials like food, water, medications, backup power sources and a way to stay informed.