The high stakes of a blackout

After the deadly wildfires of the past two years, PG&E has announced that it will expand its program of precautionary power shutoffs to its entire Northern California service area. The company’s power lines have been blamed for sparking numerous fires over the past several years, including the Camp Fire, which killed at least 85 people and destroyed nearly the entire Butte County town of Paradise.

PG&E is right to reconsider the reach of its power shutoff program.

California has a history of fires sparked by power lines. During high wind conditions, tree branches can also knock down lines into brush, causing great danger.

When there’s extreme danger, a utility’s decision to proactively shut down the power supply can prevent fires.

But power shutoffs, particularly extended ones, come with their own dangers.

Driving is dangerous when traffic lights don’t work. Seniors and people with serious medical problems are highly vulnerable without access to power.

Local water agencies have also raised alarms about the expansion of the shutoff program, because they rely on power to draw from their water supplies and run their sewage treatment facilities. Many have been scrambling, because not all of them have enough power from backup generators to carry them through a multiday power shut

off.

“It’s critical that we have water available for customers and for firefighters and other emergency responders,” said Andrea Pook, a spokeswoman for the East Bay Municipal Utility District.

The district has ordered additional backup generators to expand its capacity in the event of a multiday power shutoff, but they won’t arrive until early August.

Until then, it’s relying on careful operational management — and an assist from its customers — to get through power shutoffs that could last up to five days.

“We’ve asked PG&E to provide us with maps and a list of facilities and accounts that will be affected by (power shutoffs), so that we can make operational decisions,” Pook said.

In the event of a shutoff, East Bay MUD will also top off its reservoirs and ask residential customers to cut down on their water use.

The decision to shut off power is held solely by the state’s three investorowned utilities — PG&E, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric.

While the California Public Utilities Commission has strengthened public notification requirements for the shutoffs, it doesn’t provide a final check on any utility’s decision to institute a power shutoff. Contacted for comment, PG&E spokesman Jeff Smith said the company understands that shutoffs are serious events, and that it takes all steps to ensure each one is necessary.

“We understand that public officials are concerned, and that’s why we’re in conversation with local officials so they understand the parameters of the program,” Smith said. “But there are risks to keeping the power on in highfirethreat conditions. This is a public safety issue, and shutoffs may be necessary in terms of public safety.”

Despite the company’s reassurances, some local officials are skeptical of leaving the sole responsibility for shutoff decisions in the company’s hands.

On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that PG&E knew hundreds of miles of its power lines were outdated and at risk of failure, with potentially catastrophic wildfire consequence.

In response, the federal judge overseeing PG&E’s probation — based on the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion that left eight people dead — has demanded that the company respond to all of the charges in the report. Did we mention that PG&E filed for bankruptcy in January?

Given both PG&E’s track record and the high stakes of extended power shutoffs, some skepticism is warranted.

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo has called for a public agency, like the California Independent System Operator, to be in charge of making choices about precautionary power shutoffs. Depending on how this summer’s first shutoffs proceed, it’s an idea the state Legislature should seriously consider.

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