Wildfire risk is one of the biggest challenges utilities face today. Yet many still struggle to turn clearance data into clear, span-level actions.
After a large wildfire and a review by regulators, one utility needed a better way to evaluate and document safety clearances across hundreds of transmission circuits. At the time, their data was scattered and not well organized. This led to unnecessary Public Safety Power Shutoffs during extreme weather.
EKN Engineering designed and implemented a structured Wire Clearance Program using wind-driven blowout analysis and engineering review to test clearances against regulatory and internal thresholds at the asset level.
Through EKN Engineering’s Wire Clearance Program analysis and span-level modeling, the utility achieved measurable operational improvements:
- 99.6% reduction in unnecessary PSPS shutoffs
- Power restored to 16,889 customers
- 90% increase in identified clearance issues
- 95% faster engineering assessment cycle
- 86% improvement in clearance workflow accuracy
If your utility is working to reduce PSPS impact or improve wildfire risk visibility, Read more and download the case study.