California Public Utilities Commission Issues Additional Guidelines To Improve Public Safety Power Shutoffs

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued additional guidelines and rules in continual improvements to execution of public safety power shutoffs (PSPS).

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) updated existing guidelines for utility Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events in advance of the 2021 wildfire season Thursday, resulting in electric investor-owned utilities now required to take a results-based approach to improving notification and mitigating the impacts of PSPS events.

“The loss of power means loss of income, loss of a day or more of learning, and fear and uncertainty for those who rely on power to sustain life supporting medical devices,” said CPUC President Marybel Batjer. “The decision by a utility to initiate a PSPS event must always be a measure of last resort.” 

In implementing de-energization as a wildfire mitigation strategy, the utilities must balance the risk of harm from utility-ignited wildfires against the public harms of shutting off power.

The additional guidelines and rules ordered today will augment existing directives to better address some of the issues that arose during the utilities’ execution of their 2020 PSPS events. Specifically, the additional guidelines and rules are intended to ensure utilities are continually improving planning, preparation, and access to resources during PSPS events and enhancing notification of, and mitigating impacts on, all customers with particular focus on access and functional needs and vulnerable populations according to the CPUC. 

Guidelines to Improve Planning, Preparation, and Access to Resources During PSPS Events Under the new guidelines and rules, utilities must:

• 1. Conduct annual PSPS Exercises that use the same channels of decision-making, knowledge transfer, implementation, and communication that would be used in an actual PSPS event. 
• 2. Include additional entities under the definition of Critical Facilities and Infrastructure to ensure that entities essential to public safety receive advance notification of PSPS events and additional assistance in assessing the need for backup generation to ensure resilience during de-energization. 
• 3. Provide the following at Community Resource Centers (CRCs): device charging stations that are capable of powering medical devices, cellular network services, water, chairs, PSPS information representatives, and restrooms.

Guidelines to Enhance Notification of, and Mitigate Impacts on Access and Functional Needs and Vulnerable Populations Under the new guidelines and rules, utilities must: 

• Administer a program to support resiliency for customers that rely on electricity to maintain necessary life functions, including durable medical equipment and assistive technology. The program must provide adequate and appropriate support for the anticipated duration of a PSPS event. 
• Utility representatives at the Senior Vice President level must meet at least quarterly with representatives of Access and Functional Needs state agencies and community-based organizations to develop, implement, and review each utility’s annual Access and Functional Needs plan. 
• Conduct annual surveys of customers with access and functional needs to assess whether they were aware of PSPS events and resources available to them and were able to utilize electric equipment to maintain necessary life functions for the duration of any deenergization events. These surveys will also solicit feedback from customers with access and functional needs on how the utilities can provide PSPS notifications more effectively. To the extent possible, the utilities must track and report survey results according to specific access or functional needs, for instance persons with a vision impairment as distinct from persons with a developmental disability.

The new guidelines and rules are in effect immediately and require annual reporting to increase transparency into the utilities’ planning and execution of PSPS events. Specifically, the utilities must submit an annual Pre-Season Report to the CPUC that details actions taken by the utilities to prepare for and mitigate the impacts of future PSPS events, and an annual Postseason Report that provides data on customer-focused outcomes during prior year PSPS events. 

“Public Safety Power Shut Offs are a wildfire mitigation strategy of last resort, so it is all the more essential to have clear expectations in place so that the most vulnerable among us, including Medical Baseline customers, have their needs served should that last resort be called in,” said Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma.

The CPUC will hold publicly available meetings with electric investor-owned utilities on their PSPS preparation efforts in early August, according to the CPUC.

In May 2020, CPUC issued a decision to adopt improved guidelines to ensure that utilities better understand the needs of impacted communities and are minimizing the duration and impact of PSPS events on communities.

The CPUC aims to regulate services and utilities, protect consumers, safeguard the environment, and assure Californians’ access to safe and reliable utility infrastructure and services, according to the CPUC.

For more information on the CPUC, click here. 

Documents related to this proceeding are available here. 

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