CPUC Moves to Enhance Community Engagement and Collaboration Requirements for Utility Public Safety Power Shut-Off Events
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) today issued for public comment a proposal that would improve and update existing guidelines for utility Public Safety Power Shut-off (PSPS) events in advance of the 2020 wildfire season. The proposal would require utilities to adopt new measures to promote public safety by better communicating with impacted communities and minimizing the duration and impact of any PSPS event. The proposal will be on the CPUC’s May 28, 2020 Voting Meeting agenda.
The proposal, officially termed a Proposed Decision, puts forth additional guidelines intended to augment existing guidelines to better address some of the issues that arose during the utilities’ execution of their 2019 PSPS events. Specifically, these additional guidelines are intended to ensure utilities are taking the necessary steps to comprehend and address the needs of impacted communities as part of their PSPS planning and execution, and to minimize the duration and impact of a PSPS event on communities. These guidelines would go into effect immediately if adopted by the CPUC’s Commissioners and would require progress reports by the utilities within two months, a critical requirement given the consideration of the current COVID-19 pandemic and response potentially coinciding with the wildfire season.
Guidelines to Ensure Utilities are Better Comprehending and Addressing Needs of Impacted Communities
The proposal would require utilities to:
- Establish quarterly regionalized Working Groups and Advisory Boards with local communities, access and functional needs representatives, and public safety partners to ensure that utilities hear directly from impacted communities and experts in public safety on the effects of PSPS on communities and incorporate the feedback into their PSPS planning.
- Work with communities to develop communication and notification plans and ensure the utilities’ websites allow the public to access precise locality information of potential and active PSPS event-impacted service points.
- Provide communications carriers with meter and circuit IDs to be de-energized and re-energized in advance of taking action to ensure communication carriers can deploy resources to minimize the impact of PSPS events on communications infrastructure.
- Identify people who may be at medical or safety risk of an extended power outage, above and beyond those on a utility’s Medical Baseline rate and work in collaboration with public safety partners, local governments, and representatives of people/communities with access and functional needs to identify assistance required by current and potentially eligible Medical Baseline customers during PSPS events.
- Plan and execute PSPS exercises in areas with highest historical and forecasted risk of PSPS in coordination with the CPUC, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), and representatives of access and functional needs communities.
Guidelines to Minimize the Duration and Impact of PSPS Events on Communities
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The proposal would require utilities to:
- Finalize a Community Resource Centers plan within 60 days based on local demographic data for meeting a variety of safety needs for the access and functional needs community. Community Resource Centers should, at a minimum, provide device charging stations, cellular network services, water, chairs, PSPS information representatives, and restrooms, and must be operable from at least 8 a.m.-10 p.m. during a PSPS event.
- Restore Service after PSPS Events as soon as possible and within 24 hours from the termination of a PSPS event.
- Work with local, tribal, federal and state government agencies, and other private and public sector parties to identify critical transportation, telecommunications, and water system infrastructure located in PSPS-prone areas requiring backup generation to ensure that critical infrastructure is not brought offline during a PSPS event.
Utilities would be required to submit to the CPUC a progress report on implementation two months after the proposal is adopted, followed by a second progress report six months later.
Today’s proposal follows a May 2019 CPUC Decision (D.19-05-042) that adopted PSPS communication and notification guidelines for electric investor-owned utilities and presented the CPUC’s overarching de-energization strategy, along with updates to the requirements established in Resolution ESRB-8. For more information, visit www.cpuc.ca.gov/deenergization.
The proposal is available at: http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M334/K581/334581947.PDF.
Documents related to this proceeding are available at: https://apps.cpuc.ca.gov/apex/f?p=401:56:0::NO:RP,57,RIR:P5_PROCEEDING_SELECT:R1812005. By clicking the “Public Comments” tab, members of the public can submit comments on the proposal.
The CPUC regulates services and utilities, protects consumers, safeguards the environment, and assures Californians’ access to safe and reliable utility infrastructure and services. For more information on the CPUC, please visit www.cpuc.ca.gov.
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