Wildfire risk is reshaping the utility business model in profound and increasingly visible ways. To better understand these shifts, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office is supporting Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in providing credible, data-driven insights into the evolving financial and regulatory landscape facing utilities. This effort will highlight key trends such as the rise of self-insurance, expanded liability exposure, increasing insurance premiums and limitations, impacts on cost of capital, asset valuation changes (e.g., accelerated depreciation), and the redistribution of wildfire-related risk—whether through service suspensions, ratepayer impacts, or shifts to taxpayers and governments. The project is focused on documenting the business realities utilities face in a wildfire-prone environment—not on introducing or elevating new risks.

Review of Utility Industry Trends

Landscape Analysis and Upcoming Webinar

PNNL is hosting a webinar on Tuesday August 19 at 10 am PT to share the research on key trends in wildfire-related risks to the utility business model, actions that utilities and state policymakers are taking to address some of these risks, and emergent questions for future work. 

Register for the Webinar | Download the Analysis   

Technical Advisory Committee 

To ensure the analysis is grounded and relevant, PNNL convened a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) composed of representatives from utilities, financial institutions, regulators, insurers, and investors. The TAC provides strategic input and helps guide external engagement. Members will serve under a formal charter and participate on a voluntary basis. 

TAC Members

• TAC Chair: Ali Arabnya, Director, Infrastructure Finance & Climate Risk, Quanta Technology
• Andy Bochman, Senior Grid Strategist, Idaho National Laboratory
• Phillip Bruner, Professor of Practice, Sustainable Finance, University of Washington 
• Justin Cruise, Director of Strategy Execution & Enterprise Risk Management, Rappahannock Electric Cooperative  
• Campbell Delahoyde, Senior Program Director, Energy Security and Resilience, National Association of State Energy Officials   
• Paul Dyson, Director and Lead Analyst Americas Public Finance, S&P Global Ratings  
• Kyra Howe, Utility Analyst, Hawaii PUC  
• Becky Li, Manager, Carbon-Free Electricity, RMI (formerly Rocky Mountain Institute) 
• Cara Peterman, Director, Corporate Treasurer, Puget Sound Energy 
• Jody E. Raines, Senior Cybersecurity Policy Specialist, Center for Partnerships and Innovation, National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners
• Anna Marie Will, Insurance Program Manager, Treasury, Sacramento Municipal Utility District