azcentral.com
The Smokehouse Creek wildfire in the Texas panhandle north of Amarillo beginning on February 26 has been met with outrage by the landowners whose property has been incinerated and also by the insurers who might be forced to pay their claims. Legal papers have been served on Xcel Energy to force them to preserve a downed power pole near Stinnett, Texas, toppled by high winds, that may have ignited the blaze.
While the damage caused by the fire and the possible liability of Xcel Energy are major considerations, there are other important issues. Insurers and others note that there are deficiencies in the maintenance and repair of transmission and distribution lines in many electrical systems. The insurance industry is likely to take a closer look at electrical distribution infrastructure because there's a general feeling that a large percentage of utility poles have reached the end of their service life.
This means that not only will expensive new lines be needed to tie in new renewable sources like solar arrays and wind turbines but also the existing power grid will have to be brought up to a more reliable condition.
It's likely that insurers and state regulators will require inspections and assessments of grid infrastructure by independent entities. Remediation of deficiencies will add to the bill for renewable adoption which will be passed along to the consumer. It's going to be expensive.
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