If you're a PG&E customer plan on power blackouts this summer to help prevent wildfires.
The California Public Utility Commission approved PG&E’s plans to help avert wildfires yesterday. PG&E is reeling from lawsuits as a result of the devastating wildfires in Northern California it is blamed fort now plans on cutting power on high voltage transmission lines to help prevent another destructive fire.
While preventing another disaster like last years Camp Fire which destroyed entire communities and thousands of homes is a good thing, there will be consequences for PG&E customers in all areas they serve. The plan call for the “de-energizing” of high voltage transmission lines when high winds are present and fire danger is extreme. De-energizing high voltage transmission lines means the main carriers of our electric power will be shut off resulting in wide ranging blackouts that could last for days even in urban areas like the SF Bay Area.
PG&E acknowledges that power shutoffs can have adverse impacts and is informing customers about the program through mail, email, advertisements and phone calls. Since the outages can last for “several days,” company encourages people with special electric needs to “have emergency plans in place.”
If you have critical systems, life support, security, IT infrastructure etc. you need a back up plan that will keep these systems up indefinitely. Times are past when a simple UPS was all you needed to weather the brief outages that are occurring more frequently, this new plan by PG&E could send your home into a days long blackout.
Multi-day power outages in urban areas could lead to life threatening circumstances and widespread anarchy. Just imagine what might happen if the power to the entire city of San Francisco was cut-off for days. No traffic lights, no elevators, no lights, no internet, no refrigeration, no BART, nothing that uses electricity except those with emergency back-up systems will be working, scary thought.
A&e’s Interactive Energy Grid™ systems can provide the power you need no matter what PG&E’s electric grid is doing. Reliable, economical, and environmentally responsible energy systems that operate 24/7. If you are interested in our Energy Security offering we’d be happy to discuss your options with you.