California regulators on Monday began taking public input on guidelines for utility public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) that include shortening the outages and coordinating more closely with local communities.
Shutoffs
Articles from Shutoffs
Political Temperatures Rise as California Wildfires Subside
As California’s three-week streak of preventive power shutoffs and serious wildfires calmed down over the weekend, the political rhetoric and regulatory pushback accelerated, resulting in the naming of a temporary statewide energy czar and Gov. Gavin Newsom calling for a public sector takeover of bankruptcy-mired Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E).
SoCal Edison CEO Adds Fuel to Fire Investigations and State Criticism
Edison International CEO Pedro Pizarro on Tuesday spoke up for his utility’s need to call preventive power shutoffs and pushed back against California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stinging criticism of those shutoffs, even as new wildfires were fanned by record high winds in Southern California.
California Oil, Gas Operators Avoid Wildfire Impacts; PG&E Executes More Shutoffs
Oil and gas operations in California have so far not been impacted by this season’s troublesome wildfires and preventive power shutoffs.
California Possibly Facing Power Shutoffs for 10 Years, PG&E Warns
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) executives told state regulators on Friday that preemptively shutting off power in high-risk wildfire areas could continue for the next decade.
California Combating Customer Disconnects
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Thursday took steps to counter utility residential customer shutoffs, which were experienced earlier in the year among customers of the state’s major private-sector utilities. The action was prompted by what many think is fallout from the continuing economic recession and double-digit unemployment levels.