The following is a statement issued by Pacific Gas & Electric:
We know how disruptive it is to be without power, especially during COVID-19 when many people are working and learning from home. Our focus this year has been on reducing the number of customers affected by Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events and shortening the length of time power is off.
To make events smaller in size, we have:
- Installed new equipment on our lines to limit the size of outages
- Prepared substations to receive generators to keep power on in some areas
- Improved weather modeling for more accurate forecasts
To make events shorter in length, we have:
- Nearly doubled our helicopter fleet from 35 to 65
- Added two airplanes with infrared cameras capable of patrolling at night
- Deployed more PG&E crews for inspection and restoration efforts and utilized mutual assistance from other utility companies
To make events smarter, we have:
- Updated customer notifications to provide more details sooner
- Improved our website to offer higher bandwidth and better information
- Dedicated extra help for customers with medical or independent living needs, who are low income, and/or have limited English proficiency
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