Cody Warner presents his recent U.C. Berkeley research on how electric utilities can prevent wildfires. To adapt to growing wildfire risk, electric utilities around the world are making significant investments in wildfire risk mitigation. These investments, which can substantially impact retail electricity prices and electricity supply reliability, are being made with limited evidence on cost-effectiveness. Combining machine learning and econometric methods, his research estimated the impacts of alternative wildfire prevention strategies on ignition risk and related wildfire outcomes as well as costs. Warner studied three approaches:  operational settings that rapidly turn off powerlines when faults are detected, undergrounding powerlines, and vegetation trimming. His findings inform widespread efforts to adapt to wildfire risk while containing costs and limiting adverse impacts to electricity consumers.

Co-sponsored by Friends of the Eel, EPIC, Humboldt Friends, and the HUUF Climate Action Campaign.