After receiving numerous complaints by customers, elected officials, as well as RCRC, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) President Marybel Batjer directed PG&E to take immediate action to support customers and respond to extensive questions about widespread unplanned energy outages. In an effort to reduce the risk of utility wildfire ignitions, PG&E has been making significant infrastructure upgrades, including the installation of new “Fast Trip” devices and settings to instantly stop of the flow of electricity when something comes in contact with a power line. PG&E reports that these improvements have dramatically reduced the risk of wildfire; however, many of those outages have been triggered by light rainfall or contact with wildlife.
Since PG&E initiated its Fast Trip program, there have been over 500 unplanned outages, with many concentrated in small communities in El Dorado, Tuolumne, Santa Cruz, and San Mateo Counties where they experienced more than a dozen outages each lasting from 12-24 hours. While PG&E recently began recalibrating those devices and installing other hardware to reduce the size and duration of outages, its overall response and communication with customers have been strongly criticized. As Batjer noted, “Fast Trip outages are more than a matter of inconvenience – they are disruptive, and for customers who rely on electricity to maintain necessary life functions, they can be life-threatening.” More to the point, she noted that the way the program was rolled out seems to indicate that “care and understanding for how the loss of power may affect customers has been overwhelmingly absent.”
For more information, contact RCRC Legislative Affairs Advocate, John Kennedy or RCRC Regulatory Affairs Advocate, Leigh Kammerich. Special thanks to Supervisor Lori Parlin (El Dorado County), Supervisor Kathleen Haff (Tuolumne County); and Supervisor Jaron Brandon (Tuolumne County) for their leadership on this issue.