State grid operator’s Flex Alert remains in effect, calling for power conservation from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
By ONME Newswire
SAN FRANCISCO – Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) continues to monitor a potentially widespread, strong and dry offshore wind event forecasted to start Monday evening and continue through midday Wednesday. Given the expected conditions, PG&E began its 24-hour advance notifications to customers in areas where PG&E may need to proactively turn off power for safety to reduce the risk of wildfire from energized power lines. PG&E is learning from past PSPS events, and this year will be making events smaller in size, shorter in length and smarter for customers.
Monday Flex Alert: Energy Conservation Needed 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The extreme weather is also increasing demand on the statewide electric grid. Separate from any Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) event, the state’s grid operator has issued a Flex Alert, a voluntary call for energy conservation to help balance power supply with demand. That Flex Alert runs from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. today.
Potential Public Safety Power Shutoff to Start Monday
The potential PSPS starting Monday evening could impact approximately 158,000 customers in portions of 21 counties in the Sierra foothills and North Bay. Specifically, customers in portions of the following counties are being notified: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Humboldt, Kern, Lake, Mariposa, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sonoma, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne and Yuba.
The potential PSPS event would not go into effect until late Monday evening. PG&E’s in-house meteorologists, as well as its Wildfire Safety Operation Center and Emergency Operations Center, continue to monitor conditions closely and additional customer notifications will be shared.
The scope of this event changed based on updated weather forecasts that showed the strengthening of the system, increasing the footprint of the expected wind pattern.
Customer notifications—via text, email and automated phone call—began late Saturday afternoon, approximately 48 hours prior to the potential shutoff. Customers enrolled in the company’s Medical Baseline program who do not verify that they have received these important safety communications will be individually visited in person by a PG&E employee when possible. A primary focus will be given to customers who rely on electricity for critical life-sustaining equipment.
Potentially Impacted Counties and Cities
The potential shutoff is currently expected to impact approximately 158,000 customers in the following 21 counties:
Alpine County: 572 customers, including 6 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas
Amador County: 5,319 customers, including 380 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas
Butte County: 12,934 customers, including 1,079 medical baseline customers, in Butte Meadows, Chico, Oroville, Paradise and unincorporated areas
Calaveras County: 13,387 customers, including 590 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas
El Dorado County: 24,388 customers, including 1,534 medical baseline customers, in Greenwood, Kelsey, Placerville and unincorporated areas
Humboldt County: 4,207 customers, including 165 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas
Kern County: 638 customers, including 32 medical baseline customers, in Bakersfield and unincorporated areas
Lake County: 24 customers, including 0 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas
Mariposa County: 9 customers, including 0 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas
Napa County: 5,018 customers, including 173 medical baseline customers, in Calistoga, Saint Helena and unincorporated areas
Nevada County: 23,305 customers, including 1,225 medical baseline customers, in Grass Valley, Nevada City and unincorporated areas
Placer County: 4,627 customers, including 299 medical baseline customers, in Loomis and unincorporated areas
Plumas: 4,105 customers, including 188 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas
Shasta County: 4,864 customers, including 347 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas
Sierra County: 1,098 customers, including 20 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas
Siskiyou County: 56 customers, including 0 medical baseline customers, unincorporated areas
Sonoma County: 17,686 customers, including 1,120 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas
Tehama County: 1,224 customers, including 55 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas
Trinity County: 1,413 customers, including 73 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas
Tuolumne County: 29,886 customers, including 2,112 medical baseline customers, in Groveland, Sonora, Tuolumne and unincorporated areas
Yuba County: 2,395 customers, including 183 medical baseline customers, in unincorporated areas
Customers can look up their address online to find out if their location is being monitored for the potential safety shutoff at www.pge.com/pspsupdates.
Public Safety Power Shutoffs: What PG&E Customers Should Know
Why PG&E Calls a PSPS Event
Due to forecasted extreme weather conditions, PG&E is considering proactively turning off power for safety. Windy conditions, like those being forecast, increase the potential for damage and hazards to the electric infrastructure, which could cause sparks if lines are energized. These conditions also increase the potential for rapid fire spread.
State officials classify more than half of PG&E’s 70,000-square-mile service area in Northern and Central California as having a high fire threat, given dry grasses and the high volume of dead and dying trees. The state’s high-risk areas have tripled in size in seven years.
No single factor drives a PSPS, as each situation is unique. PG&E carefully reviews a combination of many criteria when determining if power should be turned off for safety. These factors generally include, but are not limited to:
Low humidity levels, generally 20 percent and below
Forecasted sustained winds generally above 25 mph and wind gusts in excess of approximately 45 mph, depending on location and site-specific conditions such as temperature, terrain and local climate
A Red Flag Warning declared by the National Weather Service
Condition of dry fuel on the ground and live vegetation (moisture content)
On-the-ground, real-time observations from PG&E’s Wildfire Safety Operations Center and observations from PG&E field crews
Smaller, Shorter, Smarter PSPS events
Smaller in Size: This year, PG&E expects to cut restoration times in half compared to 2019, restoring power to nearly all customers within 12 daylight hours after severe weather has passed, by:
Installing approximately 600 devices that limit the size of outages so fewer communities are without power.
Installing microgrids that use generators to keep the electricity on.
Placing lines underground in targeted locations.
Using better weather monitoring technology and installing new weather stations.
Shorter in Length: To make events shorter, PG&E expects to restore customers twice as fast by:
Expanding its helicopter fleet and using new airplanes with infrared equipment to inspect at night.
Deploying more PG&E and contractor crews to inspect equipment and restore service.
Smarter for Customers: In order to make events smarter for customers, PG&E is:
Providing more information and resources by improving the website bandwidth and customer notifications, opening Community Resource Centers and working with local agencies and critical service providers.
Providing more assistance before, during and after a PSPS event by working with community-based organizations to support customers with medical needs making it easier for eligible customers to join and stay in the Medical Baseline program.
New for 2020: Improved Watch and Warning Notifications
In response to customer feedback requesting more information as soon as possible to ensure they have time to prepare for and plan in advance of a potential PSPS event, PG&E will provide improved Watch and Warning notifications this year.
Whenever possible, an initial Watch notification will be sent two days in advance of a potential PSPS event. One day before the potential PSPS event, an additional Watch notification will go out, notifying customers of the possibility of a PSPS event in their area based on forecasted conditions.
A PSPS Watch will be upgraded to a Warning when forecasted conditions show that a safety shutoff will be needed, and that it is going to happen soon. Whenever possible, Warning notifications will be sent approximately four to 12 hours in advance of the power being shut off.
Both Watch and Warning notifications are directly tied to the weather forecast, which can change rapidly.
As an example of how notifications have been improved for 2020, customers will see the date and time when power is estimated to be shut off as well as the estimated time when their power will be restored, all provided two days before the power goes out. Last year, the estimated time of restoration was not provided until the power had been turned off.
Here’s Where to Go to Learn More
PG&E’s emergency website (www.pge.com/pspsupdates) is now available in seven languages. Currently, the website is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Russian, Vietnamese, Korean, Farsi, Arabic, Hmong, Khmer, Punjabi and Japanese. Customers will have the opportunity to choose their language of preference for viewing the information when visiting the website.
Customers are encouraged to update their contact information and indicate their preferred language for notifications by visiting www.pge.com/mywildfirealerts or by calling 1-800-742-5000, where in-language support is available.
Tenants and non-account holders can sign up to receive PSPS ZIP Code Alerts for any area where you do not have a PG&E account by visiting www.pge.com/pspszipcodealerts.
PG&E has launched a new tool at its online Safety Action Center (www.safetyactioncenter.pge.com) to help customers prepare. By using the "Make Your Own Emergency Plan" tool and answering a few short questions, visitors to the website can compile and organize the important information needed for a personalized family emergency plan. This includes phone numbers, escape routes and a family meeting location if an evacuation is necessary.
Community Resource Centers Reflect COVID-Safety Protocols
PG&E will open Community Resource Centers (CRCs) in every county where a PSPS occurs. While a PSPS is an important safety tool to reduce the risk of major wildfires during severe weather, PG&E understands that losing power disrupts lives, especially for customers sheltering-at-home in response to COVID-19. These temporary CRCs will be open to customers when power is out at their homes and will provide ADA-accessible restrooms and hand-washing stations; medical-equipment charging; Wi-Fi; bottled water; and non-perishable snacks.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, all CRCs will follow important health and safety protocols including:
Facial coverings and maintaining a physical distance of at least six feet from those who are not part of the same household will be required at all CRCs.
Temperature checks will be administered before entering CRCs that are located indoors.
CRC staff will be trained in COVID-19 precautions and will regularly sanitize surfaces and use Plexiglass barriers at check-in.
All CRCs will follow county and state requirements regarding COVID-19, including limits on the number of customers permitted indoors at any time.
Besides these health protocols, customers visiting a CRC in 2020 will experience further changes, including a different look and feel. In addition to using existing indoor facilities, PG&E is planning to open CRCs at outdoor, open-air sites in some locations and use large commercial vans as CRCs in other locations. The CRC to be used will depend on a number of factors, including input from local and tribal leaders. Supplies also will be handed out in grab-and-go bags at outdoor CRCs so most customers can be on their way quickly.
How customers can prepare for a PSPS
As part of PSPS preparedness efforts, PG&E suggests customers:
Plan for medical needs like medications that require refrigeration or devices that need power.
Identify backup charging methods for phones and keep hard copies of emergency numbers.
Build or restock your emergency kit with flashlights, fresh batteries, first aid supplies and cash.
Keep in mind family members who are elderly, younger children and pets.
About the Flex Alert and Need for Power Conservation
The state’s grid operator has issued a Flex Alert, based on a forecast of increased power demand due to expected high temperatures. Customers are asked to reduce their energy use today and tomorrow from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m., when air conditioners drive consumption. By doing so, customers can help make sure the state has enough supply to meet demand for electricity.
A Flex Alert is an urgent call by the California Independent System Operator to conserve electricity and shift demand to off-peak hours. Conservation can generate 1,000 megawatts or more in electricity savings statewide—equal to the output of two large power plants.
Some helpful tips for conserving power:
Avoid using electrical appliances and devices from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m. Put off tasks such as vacuuming, laundry, dish washing and computer time until after 9 p.m.
Adjust your thermostat to 78 degrees or higher or turn it off if you will be away from home. Use a fan instead of air conditioning when possible.
Draw drapes and turn off unnecessary lighting.
Limit the opening of refrigerators, which is a major user of electricity in most homes. The average refrigerator is opened 33 times a day.
Keep refrigerator full (with bottles of water if nothing else) and unplug your second refrigerator, if you have one.
Avoid using the oven. Instead, cook on the stove, use a microwave or grill outside if you can do so safely. Set your pool pump to run overnight instead of during the day.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric energy companies in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 23,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit pge.com and pge.com/news.
