PCHES Graduate Student honored for research on power shutoff impacts

Tiemeng Ma, a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education at Penn State, earned a prestigious runner-up award for Best Student Paper at the recent 41st North American Conference of the United States Association of Energy Economists (USAEE), held on November 3-6, 2024 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Her research, titled “From Local Shocks to Regional Impacts: Economic Consequences of Public Safety Power Shutoffs in California on Western U.S. Residents and Sectors”, sheds light on the far-reaching economic effects of public safety power shutoffs (PSPSs) designed to prevent wildfires in California.

Tiemeng’s study explored how PSPS events disrupt local economies, revealing substantial direct and indirect costs that extend beyond California, affecting residents and industries across the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) region. Notably, her findings indicate that while low-income households in California initially bear higher direct costs, but broader economic adjustments result in greater welfare declines for high-income households. The manufacturing and mining sectors suffer the most significant production hits, yet the utility sector adapts, showing resilience. Moreover, this study found that regional disparities within California and across the Western U.S. create complex economic ripple effects. Northeastern California experiences severe economic losses, while some states show resilience due to increased demand and adaptation strategies. The research highlights the need to account for regional interdependencies and local differences when creating comprehensive strategies for wildfire risk management and enhancing economic resilience. This work is part of Tiemeng’s doctoral thesis, conducted under the mentorship of Dr. Karen Fisher-Vanden, within the Program for Coupled Human and Earth Systems (PCHES).