Magalia power shutoffs part of PG&E program

Pacific Gas and Electric Company recently instituted Enhanced Power Line Safety Settings across 45 percent of what it called high fire-threat districts, an action which recently caused a series of shutoffs in a neighborhood in Magalia.

There were outages in the area Sept. 24, Sept. 29 and Sept. 30, ranging from a few hours during the day to more than 17 hours Thursday night and Friday morning. No other neighborhoods in the immediate area were affected.

According to a statement from PG&E, with the ongoing threat of wildfire, “the company is revamping its wildfire prevention efforts for the safety of our customers and communities. To help protect customers during this dry season, the company has adjusted the sensitivity of its electric equipment in high fire-threat districts to increase the speed at which safety devices turn off power in response to faults that could result in fire ignitions. This is known as Enhanced Power Line Safety Settings, or EPSS.”

The settings have led to a decrease of 60 percent in potential ignitions that could have resulted in “catastrophic wildfires” compared to the time period between July 28 and Sept. 18, 2020, the release said.

The company has implemented EPSS across more than 11,500 miles to adjust approximately 45 percent of the circuits in high firerisk areas, according to the release.