An Integrated Model for Financial Risk Assessment of Grid-ignited Wildfires

TL;DR

This paper introduces an integrated model to accurately assess the financial risks of grid-ignited wildfires, aiding utilities in risk mitigation and operational planning through detailed damage cost evaluation and visual risk mapping.

Contribution

It presents a novel comprehensive model specifically designed for financial risk assessment of wildfires caused by power infrastructure, including a risk heatmap visualization tool.

Findings

Quantifies wildfire risk for each power line segment.

Identifies high-risk zones requiring immediate action.

Provides a visual risk heatmap for better decision-making.

Abstract

In recent years, the frequency and intensity of grid-ignited wildfires have increased significantly, leading to an elevated level of risk exposure to public safety and financial repercussions for electric utilities threatening their solvency. It is, therefore, imperative for electric utilities to accurately assess the financial impact of potential wildfires ignited by their power infrastructure. This is a critical step toward developing risk-informed strategies to mitigate grid-ignited wildfires from both operational and financial perspectives. This paper proposes and develops an integrated model to evaluate the damage costs associated with potential grid-ignited wildfires to allow assessing financial risk with greater precision than existing literature. The proposed model is tailored to assess the financial risk associated with grid-ignited wildfires, including environmental damages, destroyed structures, and damage to the power grid assets. We quantify the risk associated with each power line, thereby identifying areas that require immediate preemptive actions. To visually represent the risk levels associated with the transmission grid topology, we implement a color-coded risk heatmap. The heatmap categorizes risk levels as follows: low-risk areas are denoted in white, moderate-low risk regions in green, medium-risk areas in yellow, and high-risk zones in red...