Abrupt Power Outages In Watsonville Frustrated CA Utilities Chief: Letter

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — The state's Public Utilities Commission chief said this week that she shared the "concerns and frustration" voiced by county officials in the wake of abrupt power outages that left thousands without power in Watsonville and other Santa Cruz County communities.

In a Sept. 29 letter, Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors Chair Bruce McPherson wrote California Public Utilities Commission President Marybel Batjer to share concerns about "fast trip" outages that resulted in "repeated unexpected power outages this summer, sometimes lasting for several days before restoration is completed."

The Pacific Gas & Electric Co.'s practice of quickly and unexpectedly enacting fast trip power outages has vexed communities throughout California that face high wildfire risk. In Santa Cruz County, residents of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Aptos and Corralitos areas have been subject to fast trip outages.

Such outages are triggered by automatic shut-off equipment when something touches a power line, KPIX reported. PG&E increased the sensitivity of these sensors in order to minimize the risk of equipment sparking a wildfire, but the touch of even a branch or squirrel can be enough to trigger a power outage, the station reported.

PG&E said in a statement that it remains "focused on continuing to make our system safer tomorrow than it is today" and that the technology behind fast trip outages has prevented potential wildfires. Areas under high threat of wildfire have seen "a significant decline" in fire ignition.

"At the same time, we agree with the CPUC and we have shared with our customers on public webinars, that our initial customer communications fell short, and reliability on some circuits has been unacceptably poor," PG&E said. "We have committed to improving on both."

Outages should be less common, as the utility scaled back those settings in anticipation of the storms that pummeled the Bay Area last week. PG&E said it will continue to monitor weather and vegetation conditions to determine the power line settings, and respond to feedback from people in affected communities.

The restoration process after a fast trip outage can take a while, as crews must visually inspect each segment of power line, McPherson said in his letter to the CPUC. He expressed frustration that county officials repeatedly asked PG&E to participate in a community meeting for more than six weeks until utility officials agreed to speak with residents.

McPherson called fast trip outages an overcorrection and said that Californians for years have called on PG&E to improve its infrastructure in high-risk areas instead of enacting power shut-offs and turning to extreme vegetation management strategies.

"Basically, PG&E is telling their customers that they can choose safety or reliable power but not both," he wrote.

The outages are "more than a matter of inconvenience," Batjer said in her letter to McPherson. "They are a life and safety issue."

Batjer wrote PG&E last week to say that the utility must immediately move to better notify and support communities affected by fast trip outages and seek to minimize negative effects on customers.

The utility has until Monday to respond to a list of questions outlined in that letter regarding fast trip outages. PG&E said it will meet the deadline.

PG&E must report on its use of fast trip outages in its 2022 wildfire mitigation plan update, Batjer said.

Read the letters from Batjer and McPherson below.