SAN DIEGO GAS & ELECTRIC
15 Consecutive Years Without Catastrophic Wildfire Through Advanced Risk Modeling
SDG&E achieves industry-leading safety record with advanced risk modeling
SDG&E needed to protect public safety by preventing utility-caused wildfires. The electric utility required sophisticated fire behavior modeling and an enhanced Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) decision-making process to accurately assess wildfire consequences and optimize their mitigation strategies across high-risk areas, while minimizing customer impacts.
- Vegetation-Related Ignitions: 93% reduction
- Vegetation-Related Faults: 62% reduction
- Transmission Circuit Faults: 83% reduction
- Covered Conductor Faults: 65% reduction
- Safety Record: 15 consecutive years without catastrophic utility-caused wildfire
Sources:
San Diego Gas & Electric 2023-2025 WILDFIRE MITIGATION PLAN
San Diego Gas & Electric® CPUC & OEIS Safety Briefing
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) recently unveiled its wildfire mitigation and resiliency advancements.
Our Solution
SDG&E implemented Technosylva’s comprehensive wildfire platform to develop advanced fire behavior modeling and simulations for enhanced PSPS decision-making. The utility integrated historical fire weather data analysis with their WiNGS-Planning model to define wildfire consequences with unprecedented accuracy.
What We Delivered:
- Fire spread simulations based on 141 worst historical fire weather days
- FireSight modeling for relative wildfire consequence analysis
- PSPS probability modeling with building, acres, and population impact assessments
- Integration with CAL FIRE-validated platform for model accuracy
SDG&E Continues Under-grounding Power Lines in Ramona to Reduce Power Shutoff Risks
SDG&E has been approaching the undergrounding project by first focusing on areas with higher historical power outages, extreme weather patterns and risk for wildfire.
Client Impact
A California Public Utilities Commission report found that SDG&E’s PSPS events in 2019 possibly prevented utility-related wildfires that could have affected up to 34,471 people, damaged 35,112 buildings, and burned approximately 327,277 acres.
Timeline: Multi-year implementation with ongoing enhancements