PG&E Says More Than 100 Instances of Damage Found During Post Public Safety Power Shutoff
Press release from PG&E:
During the PSPS Event
- PG&E crews and contractors inspected nearly 25,000 miles of distribution lines and 2,500 miles of transmission lines after the event, a combined distance that’s longer than a trip around the Earth.
- More than 100 instances of damage were found during inspections, including trees into lines and downed power lines, with the analysis of additional damage reports ongoing. It is possible that any one of these instances could have been a potential source of ignition had a PSPS not been initiated.
- PG&E’s meteorologists and fire-weather experts participated in daily interagency calls with experts from multiple National Weather Service (NWS) offices and the Northern Operations Predictive Services. All the experts were aligned that this was a very high fire risk event and had all the ingredients necessary for significant fires. The National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning that lasted from Wednesday afternoon until Friday morning that included locations where 2.1 million of PG&E’s customers live. The Red Flag Warning encompassed a larger area than the PSPS footprint. Maximum wind gusts exceeded 50 mph in 16 counties impacted by the PSPS event:
- Sonoma County: 77 mph
- Contra Costa County: 75 mph
- Tehama County: 61 mph
- Sierra County: 59 mph
- Butte County: 56 mph
- Napa County: 54 mph
- Santa Cruz County: 54 mph
- Placer County: 53 mph
- Yolo County: 53 mph
- Solano County: 53 mph
- Alameda County: 52 mph
- Humboldt County: 52 mph
- Kern County: 51 mph
- Lake County: 51 mph
- Mendocino County: 51
- Santa Barbara County: 50 mph
- The vast majority of the 738,000 customers in 35 counties impacted by the PSPS were restored within 48 hours.
- Representatives from CAL FIRE, the CPUC and Cal OES were in PG&E’s Emergency Operations Center, participating in discussions. The company also held twice daily calls with state agencies and calls with county agencies three times a day. To prepare for wildfire season, weekly meetings were held with state agencies and 17 planning workshops were held with cities, counties and public-safety agencies.
- In all, 6,300 personnel, including PG&E workers and contractors, supported the PSPS.
- PG&E dispatched 44 helicopters to do aerial inspections.
- PG&E’s Customer Care team completed multiple daily notifications to customers before, during and after the event. This includes notifications and support of more than 30,000 Medical Baseline customers.
- PG&E opened more than 30 Community Resource Centers in PSPS-affected areas, providing water, restrooms, phone-charging and other services. In all, more than 5,400 customers visited a CRC.
- PG&E placed advertisements on TV, radio and digital sites. The company used Facebook, its nine Twitter accounts, and NextDoor to share updates on the PSPS and conducted more than 900 interviews with media during the event.
Before the PSPS Event
- In 2012, just 15% of PG&E’s territory was designated as having an elevated wildfire risk on the fire-threat maps in effect at that time. Today, in 2019, approximately 50% of the service area is in Tier 2 or Tier 3 high fire-threat areas.
- PG&E’s electric infrastructure underwent an unprecedent inspection and repair process earlier this year. More than 700,000 electric-system poles, towers and substations were inspected, and any items needing immediate repair were repaired.
- To prepare for wildfire season, PG&E sent letters/emails to about 5 million customers; sent out more than 7 million PSPS-related emails; participated in 998 meetings with cities, counties, customers and community groups; and held 23 community open house events throughout the service area.
- PG&E has installed 600 weather stations and 100 high-definition cameras in high fire-threat districts for increased situational awareness. PG&E also has deployed its Satellite Fire Detection and Alerting System, which incorporates data from five satellites to provide advanced warnings of new potential fire incidents.
- PG&E reached out to its customers to make sure the company had accurate contact information. So far this year, 246,932 customers have updated their information including 10,966 Medical Baseline customers.
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PG&E shut down the power for one reason, to protect themselves from more lawsuits from fires starting from their old, out-of-date equipment, and lack of clearing trees, brush, grass, etc.. I do not appreciate my power being turned off because they have been lazy about their equipment, and trimming safe passes for the electric lines. How much of your PG&E bill money paid for the 44 helicopters to fly around?
For everyone complaining here is some education and a very clear explanation for PG&E’s power shutoff decision.
PSPS is the acronym for “Public Safety Power Shutoff”.
New Ca law (enacted by PUC and signed by Gov Newsome) REQUIRES utilities (ALL, not just PG&E) to de-energize areas that face severe wind threat/ fire risk.
This has the Doppler effect of potentially impacting huge swaths of the State if that threat impacts a “Transmission” (500/230KV) Tower corridor(s).
When that level of shut off is enacted, you don’t just flip a switch back on. The law requires PG&E to physically/visually inspect every single piece of equipment (down voltage) of the shut down BEFORE it can be re-energized. This means every tower, line, transformer, pad apparatus, substation, pole, reclosure, etc.
This is why a 2 day event can potentially keep areas dark for several days after the threat has passed. It is a MASSIVE man hrs. labor intensive process on 24/7 overtime staffing.
PG&E loses HUGE $$ when this is enacted as thousands of meters are not spinning and the labor cost to comply is huge. They don’t want to do these. They are legally mandated to now. This is the arrangement that was brokered through the PUC to balance the conflicting liability/service reliability laws. It is all driven because of California’s “Inverse Condemnation” liability conflict with PUC’s previous fining of the Company based on outage reliability.
Prior, power shut off or outage = fine. Leave it on, and have ANY% role in a fire= 100% liability.
If a limb 1/4 mile away blew into a transmission line and brought down hot conductor starting a fire?
PG&E liable. No such thing as “Act of God” factored.
No other State in the Nation has these asinine conflicts of law.
So, to make this real. This is analogous to you knowing your daughter MAY have a bad hair dryer. Until she leaves, you shut your house main off. Now, by law, before you can flip the main switch back on, you must hire an electrician to inspect (and document) every breaker below your main, every wire in your attic, every wall switch, every outlet, etc. Then, you must one by one phase in all your breakers so you don’t shock load the system, then you have to go back and program all your digital electronics.
Multiply this by 50K square miles.
I didn’t write this, I copied and pasted it. But I hope it helps many of my friends have a better understanding of what’s going on. I have had calls and texts asking me about it. I think this gives a better explication then I can.
Great post. PG&E has major problems in their network. Like it or not this is a fact. I would rather have them shut off the power than have another major fire. If you don’t like being without power get a generator. I actually can’t think of a single neighbor who doesn’t have a way to make their own power.
Out in Bridgeville, having a generator maybe common place, but in urban areas, many individuals living in apartments may not be able to use one if they even have one, due to rental agreement restrictions.
I’d rather they maintain their lines ..something in our rates we pay for. What is more dangerous to me is living in a senior mobile home park, all the people who turn on their gas stoves and light candles. Some even leave them on all night to keep the house warmer. They dont have a clue how dangerous that is not only to them but to everyone that lives close to them. Just like the gas lines that exploded, this is a testament to the mismanagement by PGE..they dont maintain their network they just collect payments for services not provided.
That is insane.
That is properly called “obfuscation”
Yes indeed, PG and E’s effort to make the public look away in their siphoning money away to pay millions to top execs, and billions to share holders, and in gutting the maintenance work force numbers to pay for it . In Humboldt alone, there were 40 workers in one maintenance department, now there are only 4.
Thank you so much for this. As a spouse of a Troubleman/lineman, I hear customers complain without understanding the complexity of providing people the ability to switch on their lights!
I also was extremely upset that Gavin Newsome chose to incite more anger towards PGE instead of encouraging understanding and patience as he knows very well what utilities are up against yet encouraged anger. This anger isn’t healthy for the men and women who drive the blue trucks who ARE THE FACE of PGE! There were several incidents of harassment including a gunshot into one of the trucks my husband drives while he was driving. The bullet just missed his head, going over his head coming in through the passenger window.
Newsome stressed to PGE that he understood Climate change made the inverse liability law unacceptable, that it would inevitably cause all utility companies to become bankrupt. Credit ratings destroyed, new equipment CANNOT BE PURCHASED, and necessary maintenance is at risk.
Thanks again
The combination of weather and liability laws passed by the lawmakers in Kalifornia is a good windfall for those who believe the utilities should be owned by the state. Look into other areas and cuntries that went this route before you decide if it’s a good idea or not.
I will never direct my anger at PG and E line workers, only to the upper management in the form of letters and posts, and I will not condone violent acts such as like the one that happened to you husband.
Martin,
thanks.
It always amazes me at at how little people know of what they speak. PGE was ‘ordered’ by the PUC to STOP ‘gold plating’ the transmission system back in the late 70’s/early 8O’s. So guess what folks? You get what your regulators demand of private companies. Oh and by the way…why aren’t the local fire departments, county officials, local officials, the PUC, Cal fire, US Forest Dept, our court system and the fanatical environmentalist groups held accountable? This ISN’T only PGE issue people…get REAL!
Martin, u r an idiot. Get informed. Please!
Agreed.
As a wife of a lineman, Martin posts like
You’re makes me sick.
Please get educated on the matter prior to contributing you’re opinions.
Hey, Pacific GAS and electric, What causes the fires in the sewage systems under the changed name hole lids? https://twitter.com/Valentinesday1/status/1183136351643824128
Oh, and the strange explosions from lawns?
https://twitter.com/Crypto_Doug/status/1182766630574542849
I assume you watched your videos. Yes…great! I assume you know where Saddle Ridge is? No…you sure don’t. If you do…you certainly have no clue where PG&E territory is. That is in SoUthern California….
There’s a “southern California”?
Wow, Mr. Edison, you’re quite the brainy one today.
Now, if you will, please address the question posed.
WHY are the sewers and lawns exploding and catching fire?
High voltage is the only thing keeping copper thief’s away anyway
No, a few years back, a section of the Samoa Ca. power grid went down for some time when thieves tried to steal a section of underground high voltage cable, only to be thwarted by the smoke, sparks, and subsequent fire when they were cutting into it.
So you found all these spots you didnt do the upkeep to&are announcing it, cool, we’ll include that in the lawsuits. Where are the stats on how many leaking gas lines youve found in Humboldt so far?
Bottom line…PGE took the taxpayer money they were supposed to invest in equipment upkeep, generator backups and small area grid shutdowns and paid it to their shareholders. I think i read it was around 4.6 billion.
Southern Cal Edison invested their tax payer bailout in small grid shutdown equipment so they can shut down smaller areas of the grid instead of shutting down all surrounding areas who do not have the same weather warnings. Guess what, it worked in so cal.
PGE has a rich history of killing people and getting away with it.
Watch the movie Erin Brokovich.
Talk to folks in San Leandro.
This is not a new issue unfortunately.
Lets look to a time when murderers are held accountable. You or i would be incarcerated for the same crimes.
Isnt it also criminal to endanger the lives of those say just out of surgery, reliant on electrically operated machines? Our DHHS had to call on the Rancheria to host folks who would have died without access to electricity. And move others to out of area hospitals.
The lack of advance notice was a major issue too! WTF? Supply some generators at the least! That was part of your court settlement. Ice machines on gennies run on your dime set up every 5-10 miles would help.
I wish all that contaminated soil from Paradise fire area would have ended up dumped in the yards&homes of every member of the board of pge&the ceo.
Instead of bailing them out, lets have that money go to help start multiple small power&gas companies that will then employ (with benefits) all the local pge workers who have so many skills&knowledge.
What would happen if we all just boycotted paying our bills? Would they just turn us all off?
Might be worth a try.
Your post is so full of hyperbole and personal opinion that it has NOTHING to do with reality. It’s also riddled with inaccuracies…get educated on what your talking about before you formulate an opinion. Please….
//”If we all just boycotted paying our bills “/ -has merit.
Back in the day when the people of Eureka didn’t get what they wanted their elected city council to do, they deposited their property tax payments in an escrow account, until such time the council completed what they said they were going to do.
Why not just get off the grid entirely?
If you don’t pay your bill you will end up eventually getting it cut.
I feel some people complain, yet, haven’t a clue what delivering electricity entails.
Utility companies never guarantee electricity.
With climate change, whether you believe/understand it, makes this the new normal, I’m afraid.
Get solar panels, you’ll still be on the grid but you’ll be making so much electric your bill will be cents. Or get a battery to store it.
Expensive? Yes, thanks to Trumps war on clean energy, but hopefully the previous tax credits will come back, under new administration.
I watch my husband work his butt off, I hear about what’s happening everyday. All I can say is keeping ones’s lights on is much more complicated than most people think.
Many have co-op or public power companies, maybe it’s time for that here.
Such an Irony. To the public audience, the full significance of how ironic the recent power shut offs is not clear. The shut offs have so quickly followed renewed climate change activism. These two events are profoundly ironic and potentially tragic.
Greta Thurnberg has rallied millions of folk around the world to be conscious of how our global dependence on fossil fuels is effecting climate change. At the same time PG&E and other electric companies around the West have ransomed their customers into a deeper awareness of their dependence on energy, which is mostly fossil fuel produced.
Greta encourages the public to be conscious of their personal contributions to global warming and carbon emissions while the energy companies strangle the public of the energy it needs to function. These shutdowns have reinforced to the public how dependent the society is for the power that energy companies deliver, not questioning how we got to the situation that has required power shut offs. Such irony.
While PG&E is shutting down power use for fire safety and liability reasons, they simultaneously have not hired sufficient tree cutting and transmission line clearance crews. Then, this month, PG&E pulls the plug on the public: their refrigerators, freezers, laboratories, schools, commerce and those with medical needs: all suffering with no recompense, except further awareness of how dependent the public is on the power companies and their chokehold on society. Such irony.
*No questions are asked why there are not armies of fuel reduction crews in the forests, grasslands and communities fighting the “war on fire before wildfires happen”. 100 years of fire suppression has left us with volatile fire-ready forests and landscapes. We need to tame fire not suppress it entirely. Cal Fire needs to become the California Department of Healthy; Resilient Forests that embraces prescribed fire as a tool not indiscriminately squelching all fires. . The costs to reduce the wildfire danger from power lines needs to be prioritized with massive line burials and fuel reduction efforts.
*No questions are asked why more local, carbon free, renewable and regional power generation plants have not been encouraged by the PUC. (The Public Utility Commission oversees the power companies for the public’s benefit).
*No questions are asked why other public owned, coop style, public utilities (such as Sacramento Municipal Utility District) have lower electric rates and no power outages. PG&E needs to be completely restructured as a true public utility.
* No questions are asked why solar tax rebates are all ending. Federal rebates end this year and the State of California stopped their solar tax rebate program years ago. The State should be encouraging household, local and micro grid power generation. Germany is closing its last nuclear plant soon because their government, for decades, has encouraged local, industrial and household installations of solar panels throughout the country. Germany doesn’t need nuclear any more. They have invested heavily in solar. We don’t need centralized power generation; we need distributed solar panels galore. We need more rebates and permitting relief for solar and renewable energy sources.
*No questions are asked why all the biomass energy plants using renewably sourced wood waste are shutting down, not being replaced and getting older. Biomass power plants both utilize overstocked forest material and fire hazard material. Incentives for biomass energy production have been cut back to where biomass plants cannot compete with fossil fuel plants.
*No questions are asked why the power grid has not been decentralized away from the current condition that requires long distant high voltage transmission lines that are susceptible to starting wild fires. Solar panels, mixed with other renewable energy sources, can be dispersed throughout the state and nation. If one quarter of the square footage of the state of Kansas were covered with solar panels throughout the country, that would provide power sufficient for the entire USA.
* No questions are asked why PG&E stock holders and executives continue to be a higher priority than rate payers who suffer from the shut downs.
The only questions being asked now is why was there an interruption of our needed power even though Greta has reminded us that we need to conserve, reduce and localize our power systems. It is such an irony that a 16 year old pig tailed Swedish schoolgirl can galvanize so many into climate action commitments earlier in the month only to have the PG&E’s stock holders and executives and the PUC gut punch the populous into not asking important questions later in the month. We need to start asking more questions of our policy makers and government representatives while we heed Greta’s pleas.
Chip Tittmann, Miranda, California
”While PG&E is shutting down power use for fire safety and liability reasons, they simultaneously have not hired sufficient tree cutting and transmission line clearance crews.”
This is not true. They have increased tree cutting tenfold.
Trees on federal land and states land need much more maintenance than what Trump (fed) has cut back to.
Yeah. They’re lying.
Bottom line. PGnE is more powerful than government. True freedom is to be non -reliant. Management of people is the goal for depopulation and dominance of resources. Hell, you don’t even own water on your land anymore! Imagine that! The number one substance of survival and they are taking that away! Bottled water. Lol. No such thing when I was a kid. Better go stock up on some lube, cause we are all getting fuked.
well this is such a load of crap. tree into line ? ha. since the middle of march i have called pge every month to check the statue of a large tree their own people said was a danger as it is making contact with the lines is several differant places. yet the tree is still up. and when the wind blows… the lights dim. maybe they need to get off their asses and fix their shit before they attempt to make us swallow their bs. this isnt prom night .
Some interesting stuff:
Hydroelectric Projects in California
Hydroelectric Power and the State Water Project
The project produces about 6,500 megawatt-hours of electricity per year, most of it hydroelectric energy, and consumes about 9,200 megawatt-hours.
Hydroelectric power helps fuel this process by generating roughly two-thirds of the power the SWP (State Water Project), needs on average to operate its facilities.
Some plants have control over flows, others are dependent on the flow of the river to generate hydroelectricity. The amount of power available is a combination of height and flow. Hydropower is produced in 150 countries, with the Asia-Pacific region generating 32 percent of global hydropower in 2010. China is the largest hydroelectricity producer, with 721 terawatt-hours of production in 2010, representing around 17 percent of domestic electricity use.
Hydroelectric Power and the Central Valley Project
The Central Valley Project—a federal flood control and irrigation project—has 11 hydroelectric power plants that produced an average of 4.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year between 1980 and 2009, an amount equal to 8.6 million barrels of oil-fired power generation. About 25 to 30 percent of the project-generated electricity goes to power CVP pumping facilities. The remainder is sold through the Western Area Power Administration to federal and state agencies, municipalities, public utility districts and military bases. https://www.watereducation.org/aquapedia/hydroelectric-projects-california
Blue Lake Power is Biomass.
Humboldt Redwood Lumber Company (Formerly Eel River Power) Scotia, is listed as Wood/ Biomass Incinerator (did Scotia’s lights go out last week?).
Biomass/Wood Incinerator -operating 213. 211 proposed
Humboldt Bay Generating Station is Natural Gas-fired
Natural gas power plant -operating 1,582 (181 proposed, 231 closed) http://www.energyjustice.net/map/gasoperating
Hydro Dam – operating 1,438. Proposed 23
Oil;-Fired Power Plant -operating 1,063. Closed 363, 19 proposed, 16 defeated.
http://www.energyjustice.net/map/charts.php
Did you know that the mandated solar panels on new construction roof tops shut off whenever the power is shut down? It makes sense for them to shut down, because they are directing energy to the plant. The same principle that generators have to follow when the home is on grid, so the workmen don’t get electrocuted.
https://www.thenewamerican.com/tech/energy/item/33679-californians-find-out-that-solar-panels-don-t-work-during-power-outages