California Electric Utilities Cut Power to Prevent Wildfires

Beginning yesterday, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) began the second phase of a “public safety power shutoff” event, an effort to prevent wildfires that involve intentional power cuts. As a result of the cut, about 800,000 electricity customers were without power in Northern California as of this morning. PG&E and other California electric utilities have indicated power cuts are necessary to prevent wildfires given the possibility of electric equipment sparking fires when conditions are favorable for these events. For the current cuts, PG&E said extreme winds overnight forced them to act. It also noted it expects this weather to subside by today and that it will deploy a fleet of helicopters and technicians to inspect lines before they are reenergized. While other electric utilities in California have previously adopted the practice of public safety power shutoffs, the practice is relatively new for PG&E, which was criticized for not cutting off power before last November’s Camp Fire, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. In May, the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection (Cal Fire)  determined the fire was caused by electrical transmission lines owned and operated by PG&E. Read more at The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Elsewhere in the state, Southern California Edison announced it may need to cut power to about 174,000 customers, although none are currently affected. And San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has similarly notified its customers it may have to turn off power for about 34,000 customers for public safety. For it too, none of its customers are currently affected.

The three electric utilities have set up the following websites advising of the status of public safety power shutoffs:

Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E)
Southern California Edison
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E)