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APS outlines wildfire mitigation upgrades and public-safety power shutoff plans affecting Show Low
Summary
APS officials described vegetation management, grid hardening, cameras and a new public-safety power shutoff (PSPS) protocol that could affect two feeders serving Show Low, and said PSPS events would be rare, forecastable and targeted.
APS representatives told the Show Low City Council on March 18 that the utility has expanded wildfire mitigation work across northern Arizona and is prepared to use public-safety power shutoffs (PSPS) as a last-resort tool in extreme conditions.
The presentation, led by Joe Weathersby, northeast division manager for Arizona Public Service (APS), and Janet Dean, APS northeast public affairs manager, outlined a multi-pronged approach that includes vegetation management, pole-focused defensible-space work, hazard-tree removal beyond rights-of-way, grid hardening (including non-reclosing devices during fire season), non-expulsion fusing, pole mesh wrapping, increased patrols using drones and helicopters, and AI-linked camera detection.
Why it matters: APS officials said the measures are intended to reduce the chance that utility infrastructure sparks or spreads wildfires. The new PSPS protocol specifically could cut power to targeted lines in extreme conditions to avoid ignition when weather modeling, fuel…
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