Rocky Mountain Power outlines new 'elevated fire‑risk' settings; residents warned outages may last longer

Kirk Decker, regional business manager for Rocky Mountain Power, told the Ogden Valley Planning Commission that the utility is deploying more sensitive "elevated fire‑risk" (EFR) settings in the valley as part of a wildfire‑mitigation program. "We're putting in new settings that are going to be more sensitive... that will shut the power off," Decker said, adding that crews must physically inspect lines from the substation to the last house before re‑closing in many cases.

Decker said the company has spent "millions of dollars" on upgrades in the Ogden Valley and is pursuing additional resiliency such as another transmission feed to the Eaton substation. He described operational tradeoffs: the new settings reduce the chance the power system causes a vegetation ignition but can produce longer outages because the required inspections must be done in daylight and cannot always occur immediately.

Residents raised practical concerns. One attendee asked how the protocol will work in winter when furnaces are essential; Decker said EFR protocols are used during higher wildfire‑risk months (late spring through early fall) rather than in the middle of winter. Another resident asked why easement agreements sometimes appear to require arbitration instead of a jury trial; Decker said he could not answer legal easement language during the briefing and indicated the company prefers arbitration as a cost‑control measure.

On questions about undergrounding lines, Decker said the utility is placing distribution lines underground in some critical areas but that burying all poles is cost‑prohibitive across the system; he said company investments go into rate base and therefore are amortized across customers. He acknowledged longer lead times for specialized equipment post‑COVID and the operational reality that inspections and restoration take time even with extra linemen and helicopter patrols.

Decker answered several technical questions about how lift stations and other infrastructure interact with utility planning and said the utility is coordinating with local emergency management and wildfire professionals in risk assessments.

The briefing concluded with an offer by Rocky Mountain Power to provide follow‑up materials about the risk assessment methodology and timelines for specific projects. The commission encouraged residents to continue the discussion at the meeting’s open house and to contact customer service for outage notifications.

Next step: Rocky Mountain Power said it will provide additional information on the company’s risk assessments and routing/cost questions upon request.