SDG&E public affairs manager addresses Rainbow CPG about shutoffs

San Diego Gas & Electric public affairs manager Joe Galbadon addressed the Jan. 27 Rainbow Community Planning Group meeting to discuss the procedure for power shut offs in the event of fire risk.

Galbadon was joined by SDG&E municipal advisor Maggie Sleeper in the presentation. The talk focused on the timing of power shutoff plans, the notification process, and measures SDG&E is pursuing to reduce future shutoffs.

"The power shut offs are only used as a last resort," Galbadon said. "It creates a tremendous amount of impacts."

Downed power lines have been responsible for numerous wildfires in San Diego County this century including the October 2007 Rice Fire which began in Rainbow and, after the October 2007 fires, SDG&E identified high fire risk areas. If high winds create the risk of both a downed power line and a fast spread of a wildfire, power is shut off to the specific areas with high risk.

"We're always monitoring the weather," Galbadon said. The SDG&E staff includes six meteorologists. "We have full-time meteorologists and weather stations all over the service territory," Sleeper said.

That allows for long-term forecasts, which provide some advance indication of when a shutoff might be needed. "Seven to 10 days ahead we're closely monitoring that," Sleeper said.

If conditions indicate that a shutoff need is three days away, SDG&E provides customers with an update about the possibility of a shutoff.

That timeframe will also determine if the shutoff is actually needed. "We're monitoring everything in real time," Sleeper said.

If a shutoff is needed communication with the affected neighborhoods is continued. "The day of the event notification will go out once the area is de-energized," Sleeper said.

It is possible that an outage may also disrupt both landline and mobile phone service, but the telephone is the primary SDG&E means of notification. "It's quite important to make sure your SDG&E account information is up to date with your current phone number," Sleeper said.

That phone call will also confirm that a customer's loss of electricity is due to the safety-related shutoff rather than to a system failure. "They will be notified that their power has been shut off, and they will be notified when their power has been turned back on," Sleeper said.

Collaboration with AT&T increases the chance that a customer will have telephone service even without electricity service. "We're working with them to ensure batteries or generators are available," Galbadon said.

A change in either the speed or the direction of the wind can alter shutoff plans. "Weather conditions change, obviously," Sleeper said.

Rainbow has approximately 2,500 residents, but for a utility serving the entire community the appropriate size standards are based on geographical territory and the Rainbow Community Planning Area is approximately 14.1 square miles. "Rainbow's a very large community," Galbadon said.

SDG&E has five circuits in Rainbow. "We break down segments of the circuit," Galbadon said.

The short-range weather patterns will determine what parts of a community are subject to the shutoff. "We want to make sure most importantly that the information is relevant to you," Galbadon said.

Past feedback indicates that approximately 85% of customers believe that adequate notice of a shutoff was provided.

The shutoffs include measures to protect vulnerable citizens such as those with medical needs. "We are also taking actions to mitigate the power shutoffs," Galbadon said.

Coronavirus precautions have limited direct personal contact between SDG&E staff members and the public. The precautions have also been incorporated into maintenance and operation activity. "It's really affected all of us and our practices in keeping the community safe," Galbadon said. "We are considered an essential resource. We take that responsibility with a commitment to keep people safe."

Drive-through events are being used to provide information and materials to the public and to obtain feedback. SDG&E expects to continue the drive-through events through the end of August.

Setting up physical facilities in impacted communities where urgent electricity needs can be met is also part of the SDG&E program. The potential set-up locations include the Fallbrook library, the Valley Center library, and the Warner Springs Community Resource Center. "That's an important development," Galbadon said.

Various measures are being undertaken either to reduce the fire risk from power lines or to provide alternative power in the case the power line must be deactivated. "We've been working on a series of infrastructure improvements," Galbadon said.

Galbadon expects those improvements to reduce outages by approximately 30%.

SDG&E tries to limit the contact between trees and power lines. Trimming is desired if any part of the tree is within four feet of a power line or eight feet of a power pole.

Sometimes the pole itself is the subject of action. "We have from time to time pole improvement projects," Galbadon said.

Reducing transmission distance is another method SDG&E is using to reduce the likelihood of a shutoff. "We're also using more microgrids," Galbadon said.

San Diego Gas & Electric provides natural gas service as well as electricity, and a 47-mile pipeline which runs through Rainbow and was built in the 1940s is being replaced in segments. Galbadon expects SDG&E to provide a presentation on that work to the planning group later this year.