By Reader Staff
Local electric utility Northern Lights Inc. is seeking approval from state regulators for its 2026-’28 wildfire mitigation plan, which details how the nonprofit power provider is working to reduce the risk of fires in its service area.
Based in Sagle, Northern Lights provides service in Kootenai and Bonner counties, as well as members in Pend Oreille County in Washington and Lincoln and Sanders counties in Montana.
Before the plan can be approved by the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, it must go through a public comment period, which is open until Wednesday, June 10.
Comments are required to be filed through the IPUC’s website or by email unless computer access is not available. To submit comments through the website, visit puc.idaho.gov and click on the “Case Comment Form” link on the upper left side of the page. When filling in the form, include Case No. C10-E-26-01.
Investor-owned utilities around the state must submit plans to the commission under the Wildfire Standard of Care Act, which the Idaho Legislature enacted in 2025.
The Act stipulates that if a wildfire results in a lawsuit against an electric utility, that utility is presumed to have acted without negligence — but only if it secured and implemented a commission-approved wildfire mitigation plan.
Municipal and cooperative electric utilities are not regulated by the commission, but may choose to submit wildfire plans for review.
According to the IPUC, Northern Lights’ plan “addresses the unique features of its service territory, such as topography, weather, infrastructure, grid configuration and areas most prone to wildfire risks. The plan includes information on the maintenance of the utility’s transmission and distribution assets as well as the management of vegetation, among other items.”
Comments submitted through email should be sent to [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected].
To comment by mail, send to the IPUC commission secretary at P.O. Box 83720, Boise, ID 83702-0074; Kristin Burge at Northern Lights at P.O. Box 269, Sagle, ID 83860; and Susan P. Weeks, of James, Vernon and Weeks P.A., at 1626 Lincoln Way, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814.
Comments sent by email or standard mail must include the sender’s name, address and Case No. C10-E-26-01.
For more info on Northern Lights’ application, go to puc.idaho.gov/case/Details/7702.
