After the wild fires in Northern California in 2018, PG&E instituted a policy of turning off electrical power to transmission and distribution lines. During periods of high temperatures, high winds low humidity, de-energizing the wires minimizes fires if equipment breaks or trees contact them. If these conditions exist near a transmission line, the actual area without power might be miles away at the end of the line. PG&E makes an effort to notify the public when a PSPS is possible and imminent.
Japantown Prepared! offers the following suggestions:
- sign up for PSPS alerts from http://www.PGE.com
- monitor local news stations and social media web sites for updates
- be prepared to deal with a power outages such as install a home battery, install solar panels with a battery (the solar panels don’t power the house when the power is cut off is there is no battery), get a generator and/or have an place to go where power is available
- know your neighbors and check on people who have medical challenges
- San Jose often opens up refuge centers at community centers. At the last PSPS, the Roosevelt Park center was activated
- you can charge small devices in your vehicle with adapter cables
- if your water is pressurized using electricity, you may lose water pressure
Japantown Prepared! 