Black Hills Energy outlines selective ‘public safety power shutoff’ plan for Lawrence County to reduce wildfire risk

Black Hills Energy representatives on June 30 told the Lawrence County Commission they are preparing a targeted public safety power shutoff (PSPS) program designed to reduce wildfire risk across the Black Hills.

"This is a last resort scenario," Michael Povany, general manager of operations for Black Hills Energy, said during a presentation to the commission. He said the company’s plan uses a mix of national and company weather monitoring, sectionalized switching, and pre-event staging to limit the geographic scope of any de-energization.

Why it matters: county staff and commissioners were given maps showing Lawrence County’s elevated wildfire risk and asked to weigh the trade-offs between reducing ignition risk and temporarily interrupting power. The company told the commission the county shows roughly an "81% higher potential fire risk" on commonly used risk maps compared with U.S. counties overall.

How the program would work: Povany said the company monitors conditions up to five days out, with a standing incident command structure at 72 hours if a potential PSPS event exists. Public notification runs beginning at the 48-hour mark through automated texts, calls and outage maps; the final go/no‑go decision is made four hours before a putative shutoff. Industry criteria the company described include sustained high wind gusts accompanied by low relative humidity; the company cited a typical industry gust threshold in the 45–55 mph range.

"We will proactively de-energize those areas that meet that criteria until that weather condition is absolved," Povany said, describing post-event patrols and inspections that must take place before lines are re-energized.

The company said historical experience across its service territory shows relatively few events meet the criteria — often zero in a year, occasionally one or two — and that event durations in the recent six-year review averaged two to three hours, with the longest being about seven hours.

Public-safety and equity concerns: commissioners raised the risks PSPS poses for residents who rely on electric medical devices and stressed the need to map and notify critical infrastructure. A commissioner asked whether elderly or medically dependent residents would be automatically notified; Povany said customers with a phone number on their Black Hills account are automatically included in automated notices and the utility can create a flagged list for medically sensitive accounts if customers call and register that need.

Povany said Black Hills Energy does not need approval from the state Public Utilities Commission for the program and aims to have the plan and framework in place by midsummer. He said the company will work with emergency managers, sheriffs and local officials to create a communication channel that includes direct calls to county leaders and automated messages to affected customers.

What the county asked for next: commissioners asked the utility to provide more granular historical area‑of‑impact data, to include the county chairman on direct notification lists and to continue coordinating with emergency managers and critical-service providers before program implementation. There was no county vote to adopt or reject the program at the meeting; the utility left the commission with technical plans and an offer to continue briefings.

The commission recessed without taking a formal action on the proposal; Black Hills Energy said it would continue outreach and provide follow-up materials for local emergency managers and county staff.