Committee refines power‑outage section, seeks broader cooperation with Rocky Mountain Power

Castle Valley’s Hazard Mitigation Committee spent a substantial portion of its June 24 meeting revising the draft power‑outage section of the town’s hazard mitigation plan, with members focusing on clearer wording and on a recommended, general statement of cooperation with Rocky Mountain Power.

Committee members changed several descriptive sentences (for example substituting “power outage” for “lack of electricity” and making the phrase “public safety power shutoff” consistent in capitalization). They also revised an impact sentence to read for clarity that extended outages are especially disruptive “for people who rely upon electricity for their home occupations.”

On mitigation actions, the committee debated whether to list a narrow task (for instance, “alert residents of impending outages”) or broader cooperation. Speaker 3 suggested keeping the wording general to preserve options for grant applications and future programs. Speaker 1 proposed a phrase that was discussed and refined in the meeting: “working with Rocky Mountain Power to mitigate and help prevent issues with their system.” Speaker 2 said the committee could also clarify the specific types of information exchange it would expect, for example reporting observed damage or hazards to the utility so the company can assess and repair lines.

The item was handled as draft text work; no formal ordinance or binding agreement with Rocky Mountain Power was approved at the meeting. Committee members asked staff to retain general language in the mitigation goals while adding clarifying examples — such as coordinating notifications and reporting damaged equipment — so the town may pursue grants or agreements grounded in the committee’s recommended actions.