California can get dark this summer, and most are not ready

(Bloomberg) – One of California's leading utilities, which planned to cut electricity on high wind days during the wildfire season, could plunge millions of residents into darkness. And the vast majority are not ready for that.

The plan of PG & E Corp. comes after the bankrupt public service announced the outbreak of a transmission line in windy wind, the most deadly fire of last year. Although the plan can put an end to one problem, it creates another one as Californians look for ways to handle what some might fear, days and days of power outages.

Some residents are turning to other energy sources, an advantage for domestic battery systems marketed by Sunrun Inc., Tesla Inc. and Vivint Solar Inc. However, the number of such systems used is relatively small compared to 5, PG & E's 4 million clients. In the meantime, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he had planned $ 75 million to help communities cope with the threat.

"I'm worried," Newsom said at a budget meeting in Sacramento. "We are all worried about the elderly, we are worried because we could see people cut off electricity, not for a day or two, but potentially a week."

Six of the 10 most destructive forest fires in California's history have occurred in the last 18 months, killing 123 people and 12% of the population, and often closing large parts of the state's power grid.

The forest fire season usually starts around June and ends in December, exacerbated by the strong winds that cross the state and the dry weather that turns scrub and plants into tinder.

PG & E warned the city of Calistoga that it could cut the service 15 times during the fire season, said Chris Canning, mayor of the Napa Valley town, devastated by forest fires there two years. But in an interview, the company's vice president of electrical operations, Aaron Johnson, said the number will depend on extreme weather conditions.

The company is also planning to set up dozens of "resilience centers," Johnson said by phone, where backup generators can be brought in to manage essential services. A first pilot center is under construction near Calistoga, he said.

Canning said his community is working on his own solution. He plans to develop a small network of micro-grids with solar panels and batteries, which would allow his community to function when PG & E unplug the situation.

Dark floor lamps

The Mayor of Calistoga began to seriously explore this option after PG & E, fearing forest fires, shut down the power for nearly two days last fall, plunging his city into darkness. The failure made the assisted living facilities unusable, the street lights off and the fuel pumps unusable. At the time, almost no one in the city had backup generator, he said.

"If that's the new norm, we have to live with it," Canning said.

The November camp fire, as well as the previous year's fires, exposed PG & E to about $ 30 billion or more in fire-related claims, accelerating its bankruptcy in January. Since then, the utility giant is under pressure to better ensure that its equipment does not trigger fires. Earlier this year, PG & E announced that it would expand the scope of its power outages to include high-transmission power lines, potentially impacting almost 10 times more than the previous plan.

Other utilities owned by investors also have stop programs, but on a smaller scale than PG & E.

"Stimulating program"

"It's a very demanding program and not a decision we take lightly, given the security risks that exist on both sides," said PG & E's Johnson. 'a broader utility program to reduce the risk of fires, including increased tree pruning, inspections, grid repair and hardening,' he added.

As part of its preparations, PG & E organized meetings and planning exercises with representatives of local and state authorities, said Johnson.

The purpose of the utility is to provide at least two days' notice of a closure, and has launched a public awareness campaign that includes sending letters to customers and identifying vulnerable residents. The company will also work to restore electricity in the day that will follow a closure, although its customers may be away for up to five days, according to Johnson.

At the same time, state supervisors have indicated that they are developing service interruption notification guidelines for PG & E and all state utilities, requiring them to coordinate with national and local agencies. . They want PG & E to use interrupts as a last resort.

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