Background
Austin Energy is a not-for-profit enterprise owned by the City of Austin. The community-owned utility manages 12,270 miles of distribution lines and 175,927 distribution poles. Austin Energy identified increasing risk to its distribution system from severe weather events, vegetation contact, and growing wildfire exposure in high-risk areas of its service territory. To strengthen system resilience and reduce ignition risk, the utility initiated a program to evaluate and implement covered conductor and related grid hardening standards that would improve reliability, safety, and long-term system performance.
Challenge
Developing new construction standards required balancing wildfire mitigation, storm hardening, operational practicality, and cost effectiveness. Austin Energy needed a structured approach to evaluate available technologies, define material specifications, and ensure new standards would integrate seamlessly with existing design practices and system conditions. The effort required coordination with multiple stakeholders, equipment manufacturers, and internal utility groups to establish technically sound and implementable solutions.
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Solution
EPE led the development of covered conductor and associated equipment standards, including material specification development, engineering analysis, and a trial design to validate constructability and performance. The team engaged directly with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and vendors to evaluate product options and conducted technical assessments to identify configurations that met Austin Energy’s reliability, safety, and operational requirements. Industry best practices were incorporated and tailored to Austin Energy’s system characteristics to ensure practical deployment and long-term effectiveness.
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Result
The program established a foundation for targeted grid hardening and wildfire risk reduction across Austin Energy’s distribution system. The new standards enable safer system operation in high-risk areas, improve resistance to vegetation and weather-related faults, and support long-term reliability improvements. By providing clear, implementable guidance, EPE helped position Austin Energy to proactively manage environmental risk while strengthening overall system resilience.