[NFBC-Info] FW: [ElectricityEqualsLife] PGE full articles

Eric Calhoun eric at pmpmail.com
Sat Oct 19 23:37:22 UTC 2019


For everyone in NFBC northern California, I've been advocating along with
many other people.  This is an outrage!


Original Message: 
From: "Margaret Hall sismhall1 at aol.com [ElectricityEqualsLife]"
<ElectricityEqualsLife at yahoogroups.com>
To: electricityequalslife at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [ElectricityEqualsLife] PGE full articles
Date: 
Sat, 19 Oct 2019 15:31:24 -0700

Hi everyone,

I've tried to cut and paste. Hopefully they're readable. I'd say it was
worth the long wait, not only for the media exposure but because all the
PGE officials were ordered by PUC to remain and listen to us. My own
favorite cathartic moment came when I got to tell them that they reminded
me of teenagers, to whom we sometimes have to say.. "you should have seen
this coming."  

First is from KQED on-line; second story AP/New York Times
Note the last line in KQED: this week "State Senate opens hearings"; 
Marilyn, do you have any info on that?

fight the power!
Marg


PG&E Power Safety Shutoffs Could Continue for 10 Years, Says CEO
Lisa Pickoff-White <https://www.kqed.org/author/lisapickoffwhite-2>
<https://www.twitter.com/pickoffwhite>
Oct 18
FACEBOOK <>
TWITTER
<https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kqed.org%2Fnews%2F117
81060%2Fpge-power-safety-shutoffs-could-continue-for-10-years-says-ceo&text=
PG%26E%20Power%20Safety%20Shutoffs%20Could%20Continue%20for%2010%20Years%2C%
20Says%20CEO>
EMAIL
<mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20this%20article%20from%20KQED&body=https%3A%2F%
2Fwww.kqed.org%2Fnews%2F11781060%2Fpge-power-safety-shutoffs-could-continue-
for-10-years-says-ceo>
COPY LINK <>

PG&E CEO Bill Johnson spoke to state utility regulators about power
safety shutoffs on Friday. (Stephanie Lister/KQED)

PG&E CEO and President Bill Johnson said Friday it could take up to 10
years for the utility to improve its system enough to not have to rely on
power shutoffs to prevent wildfires during dry, windy conditions.

Johnson's comments came about a week after the utility cut power to about
2 million people in Northern and Central California, saying the outages
were needed due to high winds and dry conditions that could spark
wildfires.

Johnson, who spoke at an emergency meeting of the California Public
Utility Commission in San Francisco, said the number of power shutoffs will
decline over the next decade as PG&E reroutes the electric grid so it can
shut off power to smaller areas, invests in microgrids to keep power on
during emergencies and updates thousands of miles of power lines in
fire-prone areas.


PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC POWER SHUTOFFS
<https://www.kqed.org/news/11780688/pge-customers-state-leaders-demand-answer
s-about-power-shutoffs>
PG&E Customers, State Leaders Demand Answers About Power Shutoffs

<https://www.kqed.org/news/11780688/pge-customers-state-leaders-demand-answer
s-about-power-shutoffs>
California Regulator Blasts PG&E Over Power Outages

<https://www.kqed.org/news/11780083/california-regulator-criticizes-utility-o
ver-power-outages>
Micro Power Grids Emerge as Way to Keep Electricity on During Shutoffs

<https://www.kqed.org/science/1948951/micro-power-grids-emerging-as-a-way-to-
keep-power-on-during-shutoffs>

California Public Utility Commission President Marybel Batjer began the
meeting at CPUC headquarters by telling PG&E that their handling of the
power shutoff was "inadequate."

"I can tell you that you guys failed on so many levels, on fairly simple
stuff," she said.

But while Johnson said that he was accountable for communication
problems, he defended the shutoff, saying that the company did it for
safety.

"One of the things that stands out in my mind is that we did not have any
catastrophic fires in Northern and Central California. It's hard to prove a
negative," Johnson said.

Johnson also defended the utility's infrastructure.

"It is a misconception that we turned off power because our system is in
shambles," Johnson said. "Our system is in pretty good shape. The [public
safety power shutoff] was driven by a widespread wind event."

Utility executives said that they found about 100 instances where high
winds damaged or presented a hazard to electrical equipment
<https://www.kqed.org/news/11779839/pge-confirms-50-instances-of-damage-or-ha
zard-to-its-equipment-during-outages> during the shutoff. They said that
most of the damage involved vegetation, like trees, grass or brush coming
into contact with power lines.


Sponsored


Sumeet Singh, vice president of PG&E's community wildfire safety program,
estimated that it could take 10 to 14 years for the company to finish
updating about 7,100 miles of power lines in high fire risk areas, and 8
years to improve vegetation management on 25,000 miles of lines in
high-risk areas.

Commissioners Lambast PG&E for Failing to Assist People With Disabilities

During the marathon hearing, commissioners repeatedly pushed executives
on how they reached out to people with disabilities.

PG&E's most recent shutoff event affected more than 30,000 customers who
take part in the utility's medical baseline program
<https://www.pge.com/en_US/residential/save-energy-money/help-paying-your-bil
l/longer-term-assistance/medical-condition-related/medical-baseline-allowanc
e/medical-baseline-allowance.page>. People who use powered medical
devices, including oxygen concentrators and motorized wheelchairs, pay
lower rates for gas and electricity by applying to the program with a
doctor's note. Under rules approved by the commission, utilities now use
medical baseline status to identify and warn vulnerable customers before
and during a power shutoff.



<https://www.kqed.org/news/11779283/how-the-disabled-community-supported-each
-other-when-the-power-went-out>LEFT IN THE DARK
<https://www.kqed.org/news/11779283/how-the-disabled-community-supported-each
-other-when-the-power-went-out>
How the Disability Community Supported Each Other When the Power Went Out

<https://www.kqed.org/news/11779283/how-the-disabled-community-supported-each
-other-when-the-power-went-out>
But the program is an imperfect proxy for medically vulnerable
communities, as Commissioner Liane M. Randolph noted.

Public health officers and consumer advocates say that the program
under-represents who's at risk in a shutoff area. For instance, people who
live in buildings that receive just one electric bill - or in mobile home
communities - can't register.

And while the medical baseline program itself dates back decades, it's
only this year that PG&E began to use it as a warning mechanism in this
kind of emergency. At the same time, a spokesman for San Diego Gas &
Electric, the utility that pioneered public safety shutoffs after the 2007
Witch Fire, pointed out that regulations make eligible people who declare
that they need air conditioning to be comfortable for a variety of medical
conditions.

It's not yet clear how well PG&E warned medical baseline customers about
the most recent shutoff event. According to earlier filings with the CPUC,
PG&E warns its medical baseline customers via text, email or automated
call.


Marissa Shaw of Richmond, a member of the disability community, speaks
during the public comment period of Friday's CPUC meeting. Shaw said she
was not informed about PG&E's power outage because she's not eligible for
the medical baseline program, since her landlord pays her utility bill.
(Stephanie Lister/KQED)
If the customer doesn't confirm the warning, the utility will send
someone out to knock on the door, said PG&E Senior Vice President Laurie M.
Giammona.

If nobody answers the door, the utility hangs a tag, and considers the
outreach successful. Giammona said that PG&E workers left door tags for
about 700 people last week.

Deborah Kaplan of Oakland, who uses an electric chair, bed and ventilator
and requires the use of an elevator, explained that being notified about
power shutoffs "isn't all that helpful."

"If this is going to be a reality that we're going to have to get used
to, then people who rely on power for survival need to have backup," she
said.


Deborah Kaplan (left) of Oakland and Marge Hall (right) of Berkeley
waited 3.5 hours to speak during the public comment portion of Friday's
CPUC meeting in San Francisco. (Stephanie Lister/KQED)
The CPUC's head of safety and enforcement policy, Elizaveta Malashenko,
told lawmakers in August that the medical baseline program wasn't designed
for emergency response.

Commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves also wondered why some communities got
backup generators, when others didn't.

"Was wealth a factor?" she asked PG&E's Singh about why Calistoga got a
generator.

Singh said that was not the case.

PG&E Executives Detail Communication Breakdowns

PG&E's Giammona said that the utility had not anticipated the number of
people who would access the website.

She said that about 1.7 million users per hour were trying to use the
PG&E website during the power shut offs. Normally, only about 7,000 users
access the site per hour on a regular day.

CPUC President Batjer, who was present for some of PG&E's decision making
during the shutoff, said that employees too junior to make important
decisions about technology were the ones tasked with system testing.


CPUC President Marybel Batjer listens as PG&E executives speak at an
emergency meeting in San Francisco on Oct. 18, 2019. (Stephanie
Lister/KQED)
She said that she was "astonished at the lack of infrastructure" for a
company of PG&E's size.

Batjer noted that dozens of local governments complained that they could
not reach PG&E during the shutoff.

PG&E executives described calls with county and tribal governments where
more than 1,000 people from local and tribal governments were on the line.

"Today a parade of PG&E executives told us what we already know - their
October [power shutoff] was a massive failure in execution," state Sen..
Jerry Hill told KQED via email.

Hill has been a consistent critic of PG&E since 2010, when one of the
utility's natural gas transmission lines exploded in San Bruno, killing
eight people in his district.

"It's good to know they are attempting to belatedly rebuild their support
services to meet customer needs ... But it would have been better for PG&E
leaders to detail exactly why it's going to take them 10 years to build the
resilient electrical system we should already have, so that power shutdowns
are truly a rare, last resort."

The California Senate opened its own investigation into how PG&E handled
the shutoff on Thursday.

Molly Peterson contributed to this report.








PG&E Executives Detail Communication Breakdowns

PG&E's Giammona said that the utility had not anticipated the number of
people who would access the website.

She said that about 1.7 million users per hour were trying to use the
PG&E website during the power shut offs. Normally, only about 7,000 users
access the site per hour on a regular day.

CPUC President Batjer, who was present for some of PG&E's decision making
during the shutoff, said that employees too junior to make important
decisions about technology were the ones tasked with system testing.


CPUC President Marybel Batjer listens as PG&E executives speak at an
emergency meeting in San Francisco on Oct. 18, 2019. (Stephanie
Lister/KQED)
She said that she was "astonished at the lack of infrastructure" for a
company of PG&E's size.

Batjer noted that dozens of local governments complained that they could
not reach PG&E during the shutoff.

PG&E executives described calls with county and tribal governments where
more than 1,000 people from local and tribal governments were on the line.

"Today a parade of PG&E executives told us what we already know - their
October [power shutoff] was a massive failure in execution," state Sen..
Jerry Hill told KQED via email.

Hill has been a consistent critic of PG&E since 2010, when one of the
utility's natural gas transmission lines exploded in San Bruno, killing
eight people in his district.

"It's good to know they are attempting to belatedly rebuild their support
services to meet customer needs ... But it would have been better for PG&E
leaders to detail exactly why it's going to take them 10 years to build the
resilient electrical system we should already have, so that power shutdowns
are truly a rare, last resort."

The California Senate opened its own investigation into how PG&E handled
the shutoff on Thursday.

Molly Peterson contributed to this report.





California Regulator Slams PG&E Over Electricity Shut-Off
By The Associated Press
Oct. 18, 2019

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off.html&smid=fb-share&name=California%20Regulator%20Slams%20PG%26E%20Over%2
0Electricity%20Shut-Off&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2F>
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lifornia%20Regulator%20Slams%20PG%26E%20Over%20Electricity%20Shut-Off>
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ver%20Electricity%20Shut-Off&body=From%20The%20New%20York%20Times%3A%0A%0ACa
lifornia%20Regulator%20Slams%20PG%26E%20Over%20Electricity%20Shut-Off%0A%0AC
alifornia%27s%20top%20regulator%20excoriated%20top%20executives%20of%20the%2
0state%27s%20largest%20utility%20even%20as%20Pacific%20Gas%20%26%20Electric%
20repeatedly%20said%20they%20know%20they%20failed%20to%20meet%20public%20exp
ectations%20when%20the%20company%20cut%20the%20power%20to%20more%20than%202%
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ine%2F2019%2F10%2F18%2Fus%2Fap-us-california-power-shutoff.html>
SAN FRANCISCO - California's top regulator excoriated top executives of
the state's largest utility even as Pacific Gas & Electric repeatedly said
they know they failed to meet public expectations when the company cut the
power to more than 2 million people last week.
Marybel Batjer, president of the California Public Utilities Commission,
called the emergency meeting Friday and ordered the executives to attend
and explain themselves. She said she was "absolutely astounded" by what she
thought were simple preparedness steps the utility could have taken.
"You guys failed on so many levels on pretty simple stuff," Batjer said.
PG&E officials, even as they repeatedly apologized for their shortcomings
in execution, defended their decision to cut power to more than 700,000
customer accounts in advance of dangerous winds that could have sparked
wildfires.
"We actually didn't have any catastrophic fires in northern and central
California; that was the sole intent," said Bill Johnson, CEO of PG&E Corp.
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Gov. Gavin Newsom has blasted the San Francisco-based utility for what he
called decades of mismanagement. Critics of the for-profit utility renewed
calls to break up the company.
For much of the meeting, which lasted more than four hours, PG&E
executives insisted they only had the public's safety in mind when they cut
off power.. They promised to do better.
The company's website had 1.7 million user requests an hour when it
normally logs 7,000, officials said.
Andy Vesey, a PG&E executive, added that they did not think broadly
enough and underestimated the needs of their customers and local
governments. "We have to develop a mindset, or culture, of anticipation,"
he said.
PG&E announced around 2 p.m. on Oct. 8 that it would be shutting off
power at midnight to parts of northern and central California, saying that
high wind forecasts could damage equipment and spark wildfires.
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Panicked residents stood in long lines at supermarkets, hardware stores
and gas stations, rushing to buy ice, coolers, flashlights and batteries to
make sure their cars had gas.
The outages paralyzed parts of a state that has the fifth-largest economy
in the world. Schools and universities canceled classes, and some
businesses closed. Customers complained of overloaded call centers and a
website that kept crashing.
"It's not enough to do better in the future, when the harms were
predicted and known," said Melissa Kasnitz, legal director of the Center
for Accessible Technology. "Real people experienced real fear."
Wildfires in California caused by downed power lines and other utility
equipment sparked fires in 2017 and 2018, including the Camp Fire last year
that nearly wiped out the town of Paradise and killed 85 people.
PG&E said Monday that its systems were damaged in more than 100 places,
and that those were spots that could have been a potential source of
ignition for a wildfire.
Johnson, the CEO, said the utility will get better with each new
pre-emptive outage as it works to upgrade its equipment so blackouts affect
fewer people.
On Friday, Johnson suggested to Gov. Gavin Newsom in a letter that state
leaders may want to consider having a state entity decide whether to shut
off power in the future. Johnson said at the PUC meeting that he was not
trying to offload responsibility, but that Californians may want to have
the discussion given deep skepticism of the utility's motives.
ADVERTISEMENT

As for Newsom's call for rebates to customers, Johnson said they are
considering the idea but that could set "a dangerous precedent that any
time the power goes out you might have some rebate or other thing."
Berkeley resident and disability rights advocate Marg Hall said Friday
before the meeting that the outages are more than an inconvenience for some
people with disabilities and the elderly.
"Friends, that even if their power wasn't shut off, suffered health
consequences from the stress of knowing that they were going to be
abandoned," she said.
On Friday, Newsom appointed Caroline Thomas Jacobs as the first director
of the state's new Wildfire Safety Division, which was created earlier this
year and tasked with approving utilities' wildfire mitigation plans and
connecting them with independent experts to assess the safety of electrical
equipment.
___
Associated Press staff writer Kathleen Ronayne contributed from
Sacramento, California.

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