California officials are predicting another difficult wildfire season in California, but San Diego Gas and Electric Co. (SDG&E) CEO Caroline Winn said the combination utility expects that planned outages will unfold smoothly this year. 

SDG&E Service Area & Historical Wildfires

Winn spoke on Monday during a virtual hearing of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which is hearing how the major investor-owned utilities (IOU) have prepared for public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) this fire season.

CPUC President Marybel Batjer reiterated that PSPS events are “measures of last resort, and if and when they are used, it is absolutely imperative that these events are executed safely and thoughtfully.” Batjer said this is particularly critical this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Covid-19 will...