Idaho PUC Accepting Comments on Clearwater Power Wildfire Mitigation Plan

PressReleases

Published March 24th, 2026

Detected March 25th, 2026

Summary

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission is accepting written comments on Clearwater Power Company's 2026 wildfire mitigation plan. The plan details the utility's efforts to reduce wildfire risks, as required by the Wildfire Standard of Care Act. Comments are due by June 2, 2026.

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What changed

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is soliciting public comments on Clearwater Power Company's application for approval of its 2026 wildfire mitigation plan (WMP). This plan is submitted annually by investor-owned utilities under the Wildfire Standard of Care Act (WSCA) to detail actions taken to reduce wildfire risks associated with infrastructure and operations. Approval of the WMP provides a presumption of reasonable care for the utility in the event of a wildfire-related lawsuit.

Interested parties, including consumers and legal professionals, are encouraged to submit written comments by June 2, 2026, via the PUC website or email. The comments should address the utility's proposed measures for fuel management, workforce training, community outreach, and government coordination. Failure to implement a Commission-approved WMP could result in a presumption of negligence in legal proceedings.

What to do next

Submit written comments on Clearwater Power's 2026 wildfire mitigation plan by June 2, 2026.
Include name, address, and case number CO1-E-26-01 in all comments.
File comments via the PUC website or email, or by mail if computer access is unavailable.

Penalties

Presumption of negligence if a wildfire results in a lawsuit and a Commission-approved WMP was not reasonably implemented.

Source document (simplified)

Case No. CO1-E-26-01 Order No. 36977 Contact: Adam Rush Office: (208) 334-0339 E-mail Address: adam.rush@puc.idaho.gov

NEWS RELEASE: Commission is accepting written comments on northern Idaho electric utility’s application seeking approval of wildfire mitigation plan.

BOISE (March 24, 2026) – The Idaho Public Utilities Commission is accepting written comments until early June on an application Clearwater Power Company submitted seeking approval of the utility’s 2026 wildfire mitigation plan (WMP). The plan offers information on work the utility is doing to reduce the risk of wildfires.

Electric utilities file the plans with the Commission pursuant to the Wildfire Standard of Care Act (WSCA). The WSCA requires the Commission to annually approve WMPs for investor- owned utilities. Under the WSCA, if a wildfire results in a lawsuit against an electric utility, there is the presumption the utility acted without negligence if it reasonably implemented a Commission-approved WMP. Municipal and cooperative electric utilities, which are not regulated by the Commission, may voluntarily submit plans for the Commission’s review.

Each utility’s WMP includes identifying areas where the utility has infrastructure or equipment that it considers may be subject to heightened wildfire risk at the time the WMP is finalized by the utility, actions and programs the utility will take to reduce wildfire risk, community outreach and public awareness efforts the utility will use before, during and after wildfire season to inform the public of relevant wildfire risks as well as efforts to notify the public of wildfire -related outages, among other items.

Clearwater Power Company’s WMP offers information on fuel and vegetation management, workforce training, community outreach, government coordination and preventive actions and programs designed to reduce wildfire risk, among other items.

The Commission is accepting written comments on the WMP until June 2, 2026. Comments are required to be filed through the Commission’s website or by e-mail unless computer access is not available. To submit comments through the website, visit puc.idaho.gov and click on the “Case Comment Form” link on the upper left side of the page. Please use case number CO1-E-26-01 when filling out the form. Comments submitted through e-mail should be sent to the e-mail addresses listed below. Commenters are required to include their name, address and case number CO1-E-26-01. If computer access is not available, comments can be mailed to the Commission

and Clearwater Power Company at the addresses listed below. Commenters are required to include their name, address and case number CO1-E-26-01 in correspondence.

For the Idaho Public Utilities Commission: Idaho Public Utilities Commission Commission Secretary P.O. Box 83720 Boise, ID 83702-0074 secretary@puc.idaho.gov

For Clearwater Power Company: Susan P. Weeks James, Vernon & Weeks, P.A. 1626 Lincoln Way Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814 sweeks@jvwlaw.net

Additional information on Clearwater Power’s WMP is available at: puc.idaho.gov/case/Details/7693.