The wind provides welcome relief from summer heat, but in California and other states, high summer winds can be deadly. They can fan errant sparks into flames and then spread the resultant fires over large areas, resulting in widespread forest destruction, property damage, injuries and deaths. Power companies like Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) have developed a strategy of planned blackouts, also known as Public Service Power Shutoffs (PSPS’s), primarily for public safety but also to limit their own liability for fires caused by downed or malfunctioning electrical lines.
According to Katherine Blunt, author of “California Burning,” San Diego Gas & Electric (SDGE) instituted the strategy after the 2007 Witch Creek Fire caused $1.142 billion in damages and necessitated the evacuation of one million people in Southern California. She says the strategy “was rarely used after that” until PG&E adopted it after a series of fires decimated wine country in 2017. “In 2019, the company had its biggest PSPS, with millions of people without power for days.” I remember that well: the outage lasted long enough for us to run out of water at my home in the Santa Cruz mountains because the well pump didn’t work. That was an uncomfortable and even scary situation in the oppressive heat and the tinder-dry forest.
Planned blackouts are here to stay, but what are the chances of future ones being as severe, and how should homeowners prepare? We checked with Blunt, Jessica Nelson of the Golden State Power Cooperative and Nick Barber of Prepaid Electricity for clarity.
What Is a Planned Blackout?
Power companies monitor weather reports and institute planned blackouts when dangerously high winds and dry conditions are forecast. During a PSPS, they cut electrical service to homes and businesses within the affected area after first warning residents of the impending shutoff. The power stays off until conditions improve and the power lines have been thoroughly inspected.
Where Do Planned Blackouts Happen?
Several California utilities conduct planned blackouts, but they aren’t just a California thing. “Across the West,” says Blunt, “there’s a pretty concerted effort by most utilities to get plans in place to do this,” although, as Nelson notes, each state has different regulations regarding utility operations.
Following the Lahaina fire of 2023, Hawaiian electric has put a PSPS plan in place. “There was an interesting amount of public criticism of Hawaiian electric for not cutting the power ahead of time,” says Blunt. She notes that Oregon utilities have also followed suit, with Portland General Electric having done planned blackouts in the past.
How Long Are Planned Blackouts?
The multi-day outage of 2019 is not a common occurrence, but it could theoretically still happen. “A PSPS can be of varying duration,” says Barber, “but most tend to range from a few hours to several days, based on the intensity of the weather event and how long it takes to visually inspect and safely re-energize the power lines afterward. The power isn’t turned back on as soon as the skies clear—utilities must inspect every section of the affected grid to ensure it is safe, which in some instances prolongs outages by a day or two.”
Mitigation efforts by utility companies that include replacing outdated equipment and installing switches to reduce the area an outage has to cover reduce the time needed for inspection and, therefore, the overall length of the outage. Blunt says these efforts make it increasingly likely that an outage will last hours rather than days.
What Is the Cost of Planned Blackouts?
Whatever the costs to the utility company, Blunt states that they are not passed on to consumers. Power companies “don’t charge consumers for blackouts,” she says, but they also “don’t owe you if you lose a fridge full of groceries.”
The loss of perishables and other incidental costs of a multi-day PSPS could impact individual households to the tune of $100 to $150 — or more — per event. On a macro scale, BloomEnergy reports that the Department of Energy estimates that the annual cost to U.S. businesses because of planned outages was roughly $150 billion in 2019.
Does the Government Coordinate Planned Blackouts?
While utility providers conduct planned blackouts, there is government oversight. According to Blunt, California PSPSs are overseen by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). After every event, “utilities have to submit a report saying how it went.” Nelson puts it this way: “Each state has different regulations regarding utility operations. In California, all power utilities are required to evaluate and implement the wildfire mitigation measures that are appropriate in their service territory.”
In California, the CPUC requires utilities to have a communication network in place that allows them to warn consumers 48 to 72 hours before a PSPS. The utilities typically use the news media and notifications on their websites, and they may also ping individual customers on their cell phones.
How to Prepare for a Planned Blackout
“Homeowners should prepare for a PSPS by signing up for outage alerts if their utility provides them,” advises Nelson. “Make sure your emergency kit is stocked and phones, devices, and electric vehicles are charged. Have a plan if you have medical or mobility needs or if you anticipate needing to relocate to a cooling center. Contact your power company immediately if you observe vegetation in contact with power lines or broken equipment.”
Barber adds: “For electrically powered medically dependent equipment, call your utility company—they usually have special programs for vulnerable customers to receive priority notification or assistance. If you have an energy monitoring system or smart thermostat, switch off high-energy appliances prior to the power shutdown so that you can prevent an energy spike once the power is back. And have a communications plan — a cell tower might be down too, so a battery-powered radio or other alternative communications device comes in handy.”
About the Experts
- Nick Barber is the co-founder of Prepaid Electricity, a company that helps Texas consumers manage their electricity bills.
- Katherine Blunt is a reporter who covers renewable energy and utilities for The Wall Street Journal. She is the author of “CALIFORNIA BURNING: The Fall of Pacific Gas and Electric–and What It Means for America’s Power Grid.“
- Jessica Nelson is the General Manager of the Golden State Power Cooperative.
Sources
- BloomEnergy: A day without power: Outage costs for businesses; (2019)
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