Supervisors Urge CPUC to Pull Plug on SDG&E Plan to Shut Off Power During High Fire Risk Days

[Liberty Belle]

Source: East County Magazine

"There is no evidence that the shut-off plan will prevent fires. But...in a matter of hours, we will be left without electricity and our customers will be left without water...SDG&E will create actual emergencies," - Jennifer Healy, Padre Dam Municipal Water District

By Miriam Raftery

ECU Intern Kyle Sezian also contributed to this story

June 23, 2009 (San Diego)—“The risks to life and property are higher with the power shut off than without it,” Supervisor Dianne Jacob said at a hearing today on whether or not SDG&E should be allowed to shut off power to up to 60,000 area residents during dry, windy, fire-prone conditions. By a 4-0 vote, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors passed a motion asking the California Public Utilities Commission to reject SDG&E’s proposal.

SDG&E claims shutting off power during hot, dry, windy days is necessary to prevent firestorms. The utility faces litigation and has admitted in CPUC documents that its lines have been implicated in 167 fires over the past five and a half years.

Jacob opened the hearing by asking fellow Supervisors to imagine a fire starting in the middle of the night from a cause other than power lines. “Reverse 911 would not work,” she said, noting that emergency regional communications, TV, radio and the Internet would all be cut-off. Electric garage doors would not work, leaving some people trapped. Police would have to direct traffic and electronically controlled fuel pumps wouldn’t work, leaving people unable to fill tanks with gas to evacuate. Key stakeholders including the County Office of Education, water and public safety authorities, and major telecommunications companies all oppose SDG&E's plan, she noted--and many testified to dangers that the plan would pose to the public.

Jennifer Healy of the Padre Dam Municipal Water District, which serves much of East County, said bluntly, “If SDG&E assumes the privileges of a monopoly, it must also assume the responsibilities. There is no evidence that the shut-off plan will prevent any fires.” But if power is shut-off, she warned, “In a matter of hours,we will run out of power and our customers will be left without water during the hottest part of the year.” She added, “SDG&E will create actual emergencies." Then she revealed, "SDG&E is seeking a Rule 14 change so it will not be liable for any injuries or deaths that result,” she revealed. “They have no plan for the devastating impacts on water districts, school districts, and telecommunication networks.”

Read more: http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/?q=node/1514

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I am the author of this piece and give permission to post this extended excerpt.

If you believe SDG&E should not be able to endanger lives of millions of people in Southern California, please contact the California Public Utilities Commission. If SDG&E gets away with turning off power anytime there's a risk of wildfire (rather than properly maintain its lines after already causing 167 fires in 5 years) and if SDG&E convinces the CPUC to absolve it of all responsibility for deaths/injuries resulting from such a shutoff (which is unprecedented in America), then you, too, could be looking at a reckless utility companies deciding to gamble with lives in YOUR community!