About Hoffman

The Hoffman Story

Our Common Culture

These days, almost everyone knows someone affected by a natural disaster. We all have a connection to wildfires or extreme weather; it’s become part of our collective culture. For our firm’s president, it was his former brother-in-law’s family who barely escaped the 2018 Paradise, California fire with their lives – losing their home, horses, and all their possessions – with absolutely no warning. And in 2020, his daughter and her mother were forced to evacuate from the deadly and destructive wildfire near Santa Cruz, California.

2012-2013: A Flurry of Resilience Activity

Rewind to the one-year period beginning in the fall of 2012. Hurricane Sandy caused $70 billion in damage along the U.S. eastern seaboard, snipers attacked a California substation and knocked out most of the high-voltage transformers for months, and we passed through the solar maximum with its potential to impact the power system via geomagnetic disturbances. These events stimulated a flurry of resilience activity between utilities, nonprofit research, government, and private entities – in which Hoffman Power Consulting was intimately involved.

Our Infrastructures Are Not Resilient

Our critical infrastructures are not adequately prepared to withstand or quickly recover from these events. At Hoffman, we believe that the most effective way to enhance resilience is a cross-sector or multi-sector approach. Rather than focusing on a single infrastructure (e.g., energy), we recommend a more holistic approach. For example, to enhance the resilience of a building against extreme weather, not only implement a microgrid powered by local solar arrays, but also improve the building’s energy efficiency, improve its water efficiency, install electric vehicle charging stations (for vehicle-to-building resilience), and consider extending the project’s reach to support the resilience of the surrounding community.

Our Job

At Hoffman Power Consulting, we build interdisciplinary teams with our clients to collaborate across sectors—to the mutual resilience benefit of project participants and society. Then we help the team communicate the results of our efforts in compelling ways across various media. Our hope is that this approach inspires others to adopt this transformative approach. We look forward to working with you!