California public power utility Truckee Donner Public Utility District board of directors adopted several key policies and plans during meetings held June 18, July 2 and July 16.
The board approved the updated Martis Valley Groundwater Management Plan, adopted a preemptive power shutoff program and approved the 2024 Nevada County Multijurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan.
The board also set the 2026 and 2027 budget workshop and public hearing schedules and kicked off the budget development process with a financial review workshop and water utility capital improvement plan presentation.
Martis Valley Groundwater Management Plan Update
TDPUD, in partnership with Northstar Community Services District and Placer County Water Agency (Local Water Agencies), is near the end of the process to update the Martis Valley GMP.
This update included: engaging a licensed, registered California hydrogeologist consulting firm (GEI Consultants); presentations by GEI Consultants at a Stakeholder Working Group and public meeting; and a series of board public hearings by the Local Water Agencies for the intent to update the Martis Valley GMP and, most recently, to update the Martis Valley GMP.
This planning document, which is informed by extensive monthly groundwater level monitoring and annual analysis, supports TDPUD’s groundwater management efforts and overall local watershed stewardship.
Nevada County Multijurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan
TDPUD’s board took action to adopt the Nevada County Multijurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan and the associated TDPUD specific Annex. HMPs are important plans to identify and mitigate natural hazards such as wildfires, earthquakes and severe weather.
HMPs are also required by the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to be eligible for disaster relief funds and disaster mitigation grants and are required to be updated every five years.
TDPUD works in partnership with Nevada County and other local public agencies to develop and adopt the Nevada County Multijurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan.
Preemptive Power Shutoff
TDPUD’s board took action to adopt a new Preemptive Power Shutoff policy to address wildfire safety and other potential hazards. TDPUD has a comprehensive wildfire mitigation plan that identifies wildfire risks and details operational and mitigation projects to reduce the risk that TDPUD’s electric equipment is the cause of a catastrophic wildfire.
Many electric utilities, across California and the western U.S., have developed wildfire safety de-energization programs such as Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) and Public Safety Outage Management (PSOM) to address both wildfire safety and the financial impacts of wildfires, the utility noted.
TDPUD’s new Preemptive Power Shutoff policy is designed to: identify the conditions that could lead to electric equipment causing a catastrophic wildfire; identify areas of the electric systems with the highest risk; minimize the areas’ impacts by a wildfire safety power outage; implement a power outage during extreme weather conditions to keep the community safe; and restore power as quickly and safely as possible.
TDPUD said it will also continue to refine customer and community communications prior to and during a wildfire safety power shutoff building on the protocols established for NV Energy’s PSOM program.
To support TDPUD’s implementation of Preemptive Power Shutoff, the board also authorized a contract with CloudFire, which specializes in wildfire safety power outages and has worked with the electric utilities that surround TDPUD.
2026 and 2027 Budget Development Process
TDPUD is a not-for-profit, locally governed, public electric and water utility which operates on a cost-of-service basis.
TDPUD develops annual budgets every two years and has kicked off the process to develop the 2026 and 2027 budgets with a budget workshop describing key financial, market, and industry dynamics along with detailing the full budget development process and a workshop on the water utility updated capital plan.
Future workshops will address the electric utility’s capital plan, regulatory requirements, customer expectations and operational needs.
