San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) was recently honored with a “2023 Chartwell Best Practices Award” for developing and using the Wildfire Next Generation System, or WiNGS, to help protect communities it serves from regional wildfire risk.
WiNGS is a cloud-based tool that combines visual representations of SDG&E’s infrastructure with real-time weather data and information from wildfire mitigation initiatives.
The system models climate scenarios and recommends grid hardening initiatives, like prioritizing and strategically undergrounding power lines in high-risk areas, to help prevent utility-related wildfires, reduce the likelihood and duration of PSPS, and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
“We developed the Wildfire Next Generation System to provide decision-makers with real-time information on scenarios and action plans to reduce the risk of wildfires during high winds and other extreme weather conditions,” said Ben Gordon, SDG&E Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer and Chief Digital Officer.
