A trend is emerging that's proving controversial: turning off the electricity when red flag conditions are so dry that there's an imminent danger of wildfire.
Fires in California have been blamed on sparks from electricity transmission lines managed by the giant power company Pacific Gas & Electric, and to stay in business the company has begun shutting the power down to key areas when conditions are dry enough to promote dangerous conditions.
Now there is talk among some power companies to do something similar in Texas, and after last year's devastating wildfires in the Panhandle, state Representative Ken King has a bill going before the legislature that would require state agencies like the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) and the Public Utility Commission (PUC) to be on the lookout for damaged or dangerous power lines that might be seen from the sites of oil wells and other related properties.
But who wants to live in an area where they turn the electricity off when conditions turn extra dry?
King's House Bill 2453 is intended to require the two agencies to ask for inspections by local governments or the state fire marshal when they see power lines that might appear dangerous.
In the past the PUC has stated that it doesn't have jurisdiction over power lines that might run onto property used for oil and gas drilling, much like the RRC has said electrical transmission lines have always been outside their purview.
The PUC is charged with several things, but central among them is regulating and monitoring the state utilities markets.
And the RRC is primarily charged with the huge task of regulating and overseeing oil and gas and related markets, but it serves other functions as well.
Rep. King's bill is aimed at solving a longtime problem: what agencies can help in spotting and reporting possibly dangerous power lines?
But now that the kind of unpredictable but forecast-worthy destruction has become a problem not only for local governments but for insurance companies that are increasingly hesitant to become involved with the possible dangers of power lines, lawmakers in Austin are trying to find answers to protecting the areas that can succumb to wildfire.
State Senator Kevin Sparks and state Rep. Caroline Fairly have been working on very similar bills that hope to minimize the risk required in handling droughts and potential wildfires statewide.