Monday Accident & Lessons Learned: Why is Right of Way Maintenance Important?

Here is another example of why right of way maintenance is important for utility transmission and distribution departments …

An article on hazardex reported that the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said in a press release that 12 of the wildfires that raged across California’s wine country were due to tree branches touching PG&E power lines.

Eight of the 12 fires have been referred to county District Attorney’s offices for potential criminal prosecution for alleged violations of California laws.

The fires last October killed 44 people, burned more than 245,000 acres, and cost at least $9.4 billion dollars of insured losses. PG&E has informed it’s shareholders that it could be liable costs in excess of the $800 million in insurance coverage that it has for wildfires.

PG&E is lobbying state legislators for relief because they are attributing the fires to climate change and say they should not be held liable for the damage.

What lessons can you learn from this?

Sometimes the cost of delayed maintenance is much higher than the cost of performing the maintenance.

Can you tell which maintenance is safety critical?

Do you know the risks associated with your deferred maintenance?

Things to think about.