AVISTA CORP

Incident Narrative

ON 9/8/20, AVISTA BECAME AWARE OF SEVERAL FIRES IN THE MEDFORD, OREGON AREA. AS A PRECAUTION, AVISTA OPERATIONS DECIDED TO CLOSE 34 VALVES AND PERFORM MULTIPLE CUT AND CAPS WHERE NECESSARY TO ISOLATE CUSTOMERS LOCATED IN HIGH FIRE-RISK AREAS IN ASHLAND, TALENT, PHOENIX AND MEDFORD, OREGON. ON 9/9/20 AVISTA NOTIFIED THE NATIONAL RESPONSE CENTER (NRC) SINCE AVISTA'S RESPONSE TO THE FIRES WERE DECIDED (PER THE DEFINITION OF CONFIRMED DISCOVERY) TO MEET THE DEFINITION OF AN ""INCIDENT"" AS DEFINED IN 49 CFR 191.3, SPECIFICALLY, THAT THERE WAS A RELEASE OF GAS AND AN ANTICIPATED ESTIMATED PROPERTY DAMAGE OF GREATER THAN $50,000. BEGINNING ON 9/10/20 AVISTA BEGAN ASSESSING ALL METERS AND RISERS WITHIN THESE ZONES, CONSISTING OF 1,368 INDIVIDUAL INSPECTION SITES, OF WHICH 1,300 WERE ASSOCIATED TO AN ACTIVE CUSTOMER ACCOUNT. OF THOSE ASSESSED, 904 METER POINTS WERE IDENTIFIED AS A TOTAL LOSS WHICH HAD AN ACTIVE CUSTOMER ACCOUNT ASSOCIATED TO THEM AND 396 POINTS WITH ACTIVE ACCOUNTS WERE ASSESSED AS OK TO RELIGHT. ON 9/19/20 AVISTA PERFORMED A METER SAFETY CHECK ON 748 METERS AND RISERS OUTSIDE OF THE KNOWN SHUT DOWN ZONES, RESULTING IN IDENTIFYING 84 ADDITIONAL METERS AS A TOTAL LOSS WHICH WERE CONNECTED TO AN ACTIVE CUSTOMER ACCOUNT. AN ADDITIONAL EIGHT METERS WERE IDENTIFIED AS OK TO RELIGHT. THROUGHOUT THE EVENT AVISTA WORKED TO RELIGHT ALL CUSTOMERS WITH ACTIVE ACCOUNTS WHO WERE EITHER IDENTIFIED AS OK TO RELIGHT OR REQUIRED REPAIRS BEFORE RELIGHT. ANY CUSTOMER NOT HOME DURING THE INITIAL VISIT RECEIVED A DOOR HANGER AND ONCE READY, AVISTA HAS RETURNED TO SAFELY RELIGHT THEIR APPLIANCES. REMAINING CUSTOMERS ARE BEING HANDLED ON AN INDIVIDUAL CASE BY CASE BASIS, AS APPLICABLE, BY THE MEDFORD CONSTRUCTION DEPARTMENT TO ADDRESS EACH UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCE SO NATURAL GAS CAN BE RESTORED WHEN APPROPRIATE. REBUILDING AND FUTURE PLANS FOR DEMOLITION AND NEW CONSTRUCTION WILL BE ONGOING FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE IN THE AREAS AFFECTED. IF ESTIMATED PROPERTY DAMAGE EXCEEDS 20% OF THE AMOUNT INDICATED ON LINE D2E, A SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT WILL BE SUBMITTED. A SUPPLEMENTAL FINAL REPORT WAS SUBMITTED ON 12/10/2020 DUE TO AN INCREASE IN PROPERTY DAMAGE EXCEEDING 20% OF THE PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED AMOUNT.