Equipment Upgrades Reduce PSPS in Kernville

If you head east of Bakersfield and hop on the 178, you'll hit a twisty two-lane highway that takes you through the southern end of the Sequoia National Forest - eventually popping out in the Kern River Valley.

The summers can be scorching, which is perfect for the recreational activities that attract many tourists. But when that heat and dry weather combines with frequent winds in the area, it can create dangerous fire conditions and a need for Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS), where Southern California Edison turns power off to keep communities safe until weather improves.

SCE completes nearly 40 miles of power line upgrades in Kernville, helping improve reliability.

"SCE recently updated its PSPS protocols to better protect communities, and that's hit this town pretty hard," said Shaun Rolow, SCE district manager of the Tehachapi and Kernville service centers. "We've identified power lines that can be upgraded and we are working hard to get that done quickly."

As part of SCE's Wildfire Mitigation Plan, crews are upgrading hundreds of miles of equipment in the Kernville area - replacing bare wire with more resilient coated wire, called covered conductor - which helps reduce the risk of wildfire and raises the threshold for windspeeds before PSPS is needed.

Much of the work was already underway and several circuits were complete when the PSPS program was updated. Then, some of the remaining upgrades were expedited.

Replacing bare wire with fire-resistant equipment helps reduce PSPS in the Kern River Valley.

"We're looking for opportunities to minimize the impacts to customers, pulling in supplemental crews, moving projects around, anything to push the gas pedal down on a number of these projects," said Ted Gribble, SCE principal manager of Risk Management. "Which is what we did on a frequently impacted circuit in the area called Bonanza to get it done months ahead of schedule."

With just a few sections of bare wire left on the Bonanza circuit, crews worked in teams of three - two in the air and one on the ground - spaced out across different sections of the line to get the new wire up.

They started by replacing the existing wooden crossarms with more fire-resilient fiberglass ones. Then, the crews added the new coated wire.

"The benefit of covered conductor is that it reduces the risk of sparks caused by something hitting the lines," said Rolow. "I've seen everything from trees, animals, balloons and even tents blown up there before."

Covered conductor installations near Lake Isabella are helping keep the lights on during high fire risk weather.

The completion of the Bonanza circuit is a major milestone in reducing power shutoffs in the Kern River Valley, but it's not the end.

Crews are continuing to work on circuits hit hardest by PSPS, searching for ways to provide power more reliably, including undergrounding lines in the most severe fire risk areas.

The Kern River Valley can expect two miles of undergrounding - currently in the planning phase - within the next couple of years.

"I want customers to know that there are a lot of people working around the clock searching for solutions," said Gribble. "We don't like having to turn power off for anybody, and we don't do so lightly, but we know it is the right decision to keep customers safe given the fire threat in these communities."

For more information on SCE's wildfire safety efforts, visit sce.com/wildfire.