Only eight of 160 Texas utility companies operating in wildfire-prone areas have filed wildfire mitigation plans required under a new state law, drawing frustration from lawmakers as another active wildfire season continues across the state.
The lack of filings came to light during a Texas House State Affairs Committee hearing last week, where lawmakers questioned utility representatives and Public Utility Commission officials about progress implementing House Bill 145.
The law, authored by state Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, requires electric utilities, municipally owned utilities and electric cooperatives with transmission or distribution facilities in wildfire risk areas to submit wildfire mitigation plans to the PUC. HB 145 took effect June 20, 2025.
Those plans are required to address vegetation management, inspections of transmission and distribution facilities, operating procedures designed to reduce the chance of a wildfire ignition, emergency response and restoration procedures, and communication with first responders and the public.
King, whose district includes areas devastated by the 2024 Texas Panhandle wildfires, made his frustration with the pace of compliance clear during the hearing.
“I’m very, very disappointed with the industry,” King said. “I think it’s imperative for anybody that has not filed that report to realize January is coming. You will file that wildfire mitigation plan, and if you’re dragging your feet, there’s no excuse good enough for me.”
The legislation was among several measures King pursued following the historic 2024 Panhandle wildfires. The Smokehouse Creek Fire became the largest wildfire in Texas history after a decayed power pole owned by Xcel Energy broke and fell into dry grass. Several fires during the outbreak were connected to electrical equipment.
Wildfires have remained a concern in 2026. Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd said the state has assisted local governments with more than 1,200 fires since the beginning of the year. The Ross Fire in North Texas burned for more than three weeks before firefighters contained it last week.
Panhandle rancher Craig Cowden has already dealt with two fires on his property this year. Both were sparked by electrical equipment used by oil and gas companies, but Cowden was able to extinguish the fires before either grew beyond five acres.
That was a much different outcome from 2024, when Cowden lost about 20,000 acres to wildfire.
Cowden was among the ranchers who worked with state lawmakers after the 2024 fires to address electrical equipment and infrastructure that could contribute to future wildfires.
“It’s kind of discouraging that there hasn’t been more proactively submitting their wildfire plan,” Cowden said.
Most utilities say plans are being prepared
Despite the small number of completed filings, PUC officials told lawmakers most affected utilities have been in communication with the agency.
PUC Director Connie Corona said eight utilities have submitted plans and another four have provided dates when they expect to file. Another 135 utilities have told the commission they are preparing their plans.
That leaves 13 utilities that had not communicated their intentions to the PUC.
“We’ve asked for a heads-up notice of when the utility plans to file, and try to ensure that meets with the resources we have available,” Corona told lawmakers.
The PUC has also developed a model wildfire mitigation plan that utilities can use as a template. The effort is intended in part to help smaller utilities that may not have the resources needed to develop plans from scratch.
King requested a list of utilities that have already complied.
“When eight out of 160 have complied, and we’re sitting here in September, that doesn’t sound like a very good response to me,” King said.
There have been signs of improvement since the 2024 fires. King said six fires have been linked to electrical problems this year, compared with 80 in 2024.
Xcel details wildfire prevention efforts
Brad Baldridge, interim president of Southwestern Public Service Company, which operates as Xcel Energy, also appeared before lawmakers to explain the company's wildfire prevention efforts.
Xcel faced significant scrutiny following the 2024 Panhandle fires and has since deployed 97 wildfire detection cameras throughout its service territory. The cameras use artificial intelligence to identify smoke and provide real-time information to utility employees, firefighters and emergency managers.
The company also uses Public Safety Power Shutoffs during particularly dangerous wildfire conditions. The procedure allows Xcel to shut off electricity in targeted areas when weather and vegetation conditions create an elevated risk of an electrical ignition.
Baldridge said Xcel has used the shutoffs five times since 2024.
When King asked whether Xcel had filed its wildfire mitigation plan, Baldridge said the company submitted it last month. He said heavy vegetation growth following rainfall earlier in the year contributed to the delay because company experts were concentrating on wildfire prevention work.
“All of our experts were focusing on wildfire mitigation,” Baldridge said. “Which delayed us a little bit in our filing.”
Mark Bell, CEO of the Association of Electric Companies of Texas, told lawmakers utilities are increasingly using remote cameras and sensors to identify fires, stepping up vegetation management and using power shutoffs during extreme conditions.
Bell said he expects the required plans to be submitted before the end of the year.
“I think all the plans are going to be filed by the end of the year,” Bell said.
King pointed out that would leave a significant number of plans to be processed in a relatively short period.
“That’d be 148 [plans] approved before January,” King said.
Bell said five of the association's utilities have filed their plans and another is scheduled to file in October.
Utilities are also facing another January requirement involving their poles and other infrastructure. Corona said pole and maintenance plans will be due that month, providing an inventory of utility assets.
King said lawmakers want companies to identify what infrastructure they own in Texas, where it is located and how old it is.
For Panhandle residents who lived through the 2024 fires, the changes are already visible in some places.
Cowden said Xcel has been upgrading electrical poles and other infrastructure around the region at a level he did not see before the historic fires.
“You can tell they’re making a conscious effort to try to upgrade their infrastructure,” Cowden said.
