Why wasn’t the power shut off?
PG&E offers little explanation for moves before the Camp fire.
SACRAMENTO — In a report filed with state regulators Tuesday, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. offered little explanation of why it decided not to shut off power in Butte County before the deadliest wildfire in California history.
The utility giant, under pressure to stop its power lines from sparking wildfires, adopted a plan this fall to turn off power during high-risk weather conditions. Days before the Camp fire killed at least 88 people, PG&E warned customers that it might cut electricity in Paradise and other fireprone areas of the Sierra Foothills on Nov. 8. But the company ultimately canceled plans for the shut-off.
“The forecasted conditions didn’t meet the criteria to initiate a Public Safety Power Shutoff,” said James Noonan, a spokesman for PG&E.
The California Public Utilities Commission requires utilities to file reports 10 days after customers are warned about or experience shut-offs. But a resolution adopted by the agency suggests a utility is required to provide an explanation only if it cuts power.
The CPUC did not respond to questions about the policy Tuesday.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and it’s unclear whether a planned outage would have prevented the devastation. PG&E reported problems with a high-voltage transmission line and a less-powerful circuit shortly before and after the fire started.
PG&E’s 14-page report says it began sending shutoff warnings Nov. 6 to 70,000 customers in nine counties, including Butte, “where the forecasted weather and wildfire potential indicated a high likelihood of impacts to the company’s equipment and facilities.”
The company said it adjusted the warning to about 63,000 customers in eight counties Nov. 7 because weather conditions “were nearing but not reaching forecasted levels that would warrant temporarily turning off power for customer safety.”
PG&E did not offer any further explanation in the report for its lack of action overnight Nov. 7 or early Nov. 8. A weather station near Paradise clocked wind gusts of 52 mph hours before the fire was reported at 6:29 a.m.
Hours after the fire began, winds decreased and conditions no longer met the company’s criteria for a shut-off by 1 p.m. Nov. 8, PG&E said in the report.
“Based on the forecasted information, PG&E no longer anticipated a possible need to de-energize,” the report states. “PG&E immediately informed all stakeholders of the change in conditions and that no lines would be proactively de-energized.”
The CPUC is expected to review the report and determine if an investigation is warranted.
In other questions for PG&E, a federal judge on Tuesday asked the company to explain its role in the Camp fire and whether the utility might have violated the terms of its criminal probation from the San Bruno pipeline blast.
Nearly two years ago, a federal judge sentenced PG&E to probation and ordered it to pay a $3-million fine after an underground pipeline burst and killed eight residents.