Truckee, Calif. (March 12, 2024)—Truckee Donner Public Utility District’s board of directors met last Wednesday for its regularly scheduled monthly meeting, which fell just after TDPUD staff spent days working long hours in tough conditions to keep the power on during this winter’s biggest storm so far.

Blizzard Response

To start the month, Truckee was hit with a multi-day, severe winter storm that brought high winds and heavy snowfall to the area, causing outages for some TDPUD customers. Significant outages began Friday afternoon while the storm was at its most extreme. At its peak, TDPUD had about 10 percent of total customers out of power, and the majority of customers were restored within six hours.

Most of the issues were in Donner Lake and Prosser, where falling trees and high winds caused downed lines, equipment damage and a major broken power pole. Obstacles to response included roads blocked by snow and fallen trees, winds that were too strong for bucket truck use, and downed lines in backyards and remote areas where bucket truck access was not possible. Linemen had to snowshoe into some locations, carrying all the equipment they needed to climb poles and make repairs. Even vehicles equipped with snow tracks struggled in the intense snowfall.

TDPUD would like to thank its customers for their patience, understanding and support during this storm, and its staff for their incredible work in difficult conditions to safely serve the community.

March Board Meeting Recap

The board meeting began with director updates from each department. The electric utility director provided statistics and a recap of all the work done during the recent blizzard, as well as a brief update on capital projects like the substation rebuild, the construction of a battery energy storage system and various development projects with TDPUD involvement.

The water utility director shared that to start 2024, water demand is down nearly eight percent year over year, which is likely due to poor snow conditions resulting in less tourism. He also spoke about water leak detection, which has always been an important part of the water department’s oversight but will become even more crucial when new conservation regulations go into effect in 2025. TDPUD has different ways it detects leaks, including using satellite technology to locate pipeline leaks underground, installing temporary antennas on hydrants to monitor water flow data, and installing master meters to more accurately pinpoint where water loss is occurring.

The board also heard a presentation from TDPUD’s chief information officer on the IT department’s roadmap for the future of the utility. Some of the elements that are driving TDPUD’s digital transformation are customer experience, operations agility and workforce enablement. TDPUD can better serve its customers and support its staff with modern tools and technologies that help get the job done efficiently and effectively.

After analyzing TDPUD’s needs and deficiencies —now and in the future­ —the IT team is prioritizing projects that will improve mapping systems, the outage management system, and network connectivity in the field for better crew communications and workflow. They will also be looking to harness business intelligence to use data to solve problems, and are focused on cybersecurity, to make sure TDPUD is prepared to face modern-day threats.

The board also voted to approve water projects like pipeline replacement in Tahoe Donner and tank rehabilitation in Prosser, which will be done this summer. It also approved a contract renewal for software used by TDPUD’s conservation department to conduct virtual energy audits for customers.

Information about TDPUD board meetings and access to agendas, minutes, live streaming and archived video can be found at Board Meetings.

About Truckee Donner PUD:

TDPUD is a public utility district created in 1927 and overseen by a locally elected board of directors. TDPUD is a not-for-profit entity that provides the greater Truckee area with reliable and high-quality water and power services, while guiding the community to conserve resources. For more information about TDPUD, call 530-587-3896 or visit tdpud.org.

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Media Contact: Steven Poncelet, Truckee Donner PUD, 530-582-3951, stevenponcelet@tdpud.org

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