At LMUD, safety is a core value. We take every available measure to ensure the safety of our employees and members of the public. This time of year will bring many new projects and activities that can pose a safety hazard. I encourage you to take time to plan your work with safety in mind.
It’s a good idea to survey your job site and be aware of its surroundings when planning construction or repair jobs, such as underground utility lines and overhead utility lines. If your job involves digging or excavation work, always call 811 before you begin. They will send utility crews to mark the locations of underground utility lines so that you can proceed safely.
For those who are clearing fence lines on ranches, please be aware that electric utility poles are vulnerable to even small fires. These poles may look very sturdy or tough but, after years of service, they are very dry. Even though a grass fire may seem innocent enough, these poles can catch fire and burn at ground level or internally. You could be held liable for damaging a pole, so please use extreme caution. We encourage you to avoid the use of fire around poles. Weed eat down to the bare ground 10 feet around the pole to protect them or contact LMUD if you have questions.
LMUD represents the interests of you, our customers, primarily through our California Municipal Utilities Association. This past year, we have worked on several new state programs that could impact LMUD operations and our customers. On February 6, members of our industry including our neighboring public power utilities, Plumas Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative and Truckee Donner Public Utility District, met in Sacramento to provide feedback to legislators and our CMUA representatives regarding these proposed programs.
The state has proposed a new rule on the electrification of line and bucket trucks that in a few years could affect our ability to respond to outages and present safety concerns to our employees and to the public. It is unlikely that these electrified trucks could meet the rigorous demands that are placed on our trucks currently. We have explained to the California Air Resources Board how important our vehicles are to all of us as well as emergency responders when lines are down, or when high winds or fire emergencies exist. Our service territory is over 1,900 square miles in size. LMUD employees cover long distances to respond to outages and emergencies and these electric vehicles will have limited range and payload. This program, if enacted, could create safety concerns, and could cost our ratepayers more due to the projected higher costs of electric medium-duty trucks. We continue to work to minimize the impact of this program on LMUD and our customers.
The state has also proposed an energy procurement program that LMUD could be mandated to participate in. Due to the state’s power shortages in June 2022, the governor has called for a new program. In the case of LMUD’s power supply, we do have access to power produced by the Honey Lake Power plant when PG&E interrupts our service from our provider Western Area Power Administration. However, a program establishing a Planning Reserve Margin will be allocated to utilities, including LMUD. The state would procure emergency resources to provide this power capacity and then pass this cost along to LMUD and our customers. We are working with our partner utilities and CMUA to minimize the impact and the additional costs of this program which could be imposed later this year.
Pat Holley
General Manager