WELCOME, EVERYBODY, TO THE JOINT
LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE ON
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. ASSEMBLY
COMMITTEE ON EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT. Þ JOINT OVERSIGHT
HEARING. CRITICAL LIFELINE
DISRUPTIONS. HOW CALIFORNIANS
PREPARE FOR EXTREME INCIDENTS.
ELECTRICITY, GAS AND PUBLIC
SAFETY. POWER SHUTOFFS. THANK
YOU FOR JOINING US THIS
AFTERNOON. OAN WITH THE
WILDFIRE, WILDFIRES, EARTHQUAKES
AND OTHER NATURAL EVENTS
BECOMING CATASTROPHIC, DISASTERS
WHEN THEY DESTROYED THINGS THAT
WE NEED TO SURVIVE, WE CALL
THESE NEEDS LIFELINES, WHICH
INCLUDE FOOD, WATER,
TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING, MEDICAL
CARE, COMMUNICATION, POWER AND
GAS. TODAY, OUR FOCUS IS GOING
TO FOCUS ON THE LIFELINES OF
POWER AND GAS. CALIFORNIA IS THE
MOST POPULOUS STATE IN THE
NATION. WE ARE SUSTAINED BY A
VAST NETWORK OF POWER LINES, GAS
PIPES AND ALL THE INFRASTRUCTURE
IN BETWEEN IN THE BLINK OF AN
EYE. DISASTERS LIKE EARTHQUAKES
AND WILDFIRES CAN WREAK HAVOC ON
THIS INFRASTRUCTURE. THE DANGERS
ARE TWOFOLD. FIRST ARE MANY
TERRIBLE EFFECTS OF LOSING
POWER, SUCH AS OUR SAFETY, OUR
MEDICINE, FOOD SUPPLY WITHOUT
REFRIGERATION, THE INABILITY OF
PEOPLE KEEPING SAFE IN EXTREME
TEMPERATURES, WITHOUT AC HEATERS
RUNNING AND COMMUNICATIONS,
MEDICAL RESPONSE AND WASTEWATER
TREATMENT ARE ALL IN DANGER WHEN
WE HAVE NO POWER. SECOND,
RUPTURED POWER LINES CAN START
FIRES, GAS LEAKS, AND CAUSE
EXPLOSIONS, CREATING A SECONDARY
HAZARD THAT WE MUST BATTLE. IN
THE PAST MALFUNCTION, OUR POWER
INFRASTRUCTURE HAVE ALSO BEEN
THE CAUSE OF SEVERE WILDFIRES.
WHILE ELECTRICITY UTILITY
INFRASTRUCTURE HAS HISTORICALLY
BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR LESS THAN
10% OF REPORTED WILDFIRES, NINE
OF THE FIRES ARE ATTRIBUTED TO
POWER EQUIPMENT ARE AMONG THE 20
MOST DESTRUCTIVE FIRES IN
CALIFORNIA'S HISTORY. NOW
IMAGINE WHEN CALIFORNIA IS FACED
WITH TWO SIMULTANEOUS
CATASTROPHIC DISASTERS, SUCH AS
A MAJOR EARTHQUAKE AND SEVERE
WILDFIRE. ARE WE PREPARED
BECAUSE OF THIS? IT IS VITAL FOR
ALL OUR STAKEHOLDERS PARTICIPATE
IN MAKING OUR POWER AND GAS
INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENT. THIS
INCLUDES USING THE LATEST
TECHNOLOGIES TO UPGRADE OUR
INFRASTRUCTURE AND MAKING PLANS
FOR HOW WE WILL HANDLE THE LOSS
OF SERVICE DURING A DISASTER.
TODAY WE'LL BE HEARING FROM
EIGHT WITNESSES ON THE FIRST
PANEL. WITNESSES REPRESENTING
THE RESPONSE PERSPECTIVES WILL
DISCUSS THE IMPACTS OF POWER
LOSS ON CRISIS MANAGEMENT. ON
THE SECOND PANEL, UTILITY
PROVIDERS AND STATE UTILITY
REGULATORS WILL DISCUSS ONGOING
MITIGATION EFFORTS AND THE
EXPECTED DISRUPTIONS AND
RECOVERY PLANS THAT WILL ARISE
IN THE IN THE EVENT OF A MAJOR
DISASTER. AND I LOOK FORWARD TO
LEARNING ABOUT OUR PROGRESS IN
THE FUTURE OF THIS AREAS WITH
YOU TODAY WITH THE VICE CHAIR,
LIKE TO PROVIDE ANY OPENING
REMARKS? THANK YOU. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, CHAIR
RODRIGUEZ, FOR GETTING US
STARTED TODAY. GREAT TO BE HERE
AS THE VICE CHAIR. I ALSO WANT
TO THANK ALL THE PANELISTS THAT
MADE THEIR WAY HERE, THEY ARE
GOING TO SHARE PERSPECTIVE WITH
US AND ANSWER QUESTIONS FROM US
AND APPRECIATE THEIR WORK,
REALLY ON THE GROUND, BUT ALSO
IN INFORMING US. TODAY'S HEARING
WILL LOOK IT WILL TAKE A LOOK AT
WHAT OUR COMMUNITIES WOULD FACE,
NOT IF BUT WHEN ARE THE NEXT
DISASTER COMES ALONG TO DISRUPT
CRITICAL ELECTRICITY AND GAS
LIFELINES AND HOW THE STATE CAN
SHORE UP ITS RESOURCES IN
RESPONSE TO THOSE NEEDS.
UNFORTUNATELY, I REPRESENT A
DISTRICT THAT HAS FACED MORE
THAN ITS SHARE OF NATURAL
DISASTERS OVER THE PAST YEARS. I
LEARNED THIS FIRSTHAND DURING MY
FIRST YEAR IN THE LEGISLATURE,
WHEN THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES I
REPRESENT WERE DEVASTATED BY
UTILITY, SPARKS, THOMAS FIRE AND
SUBSEQUENT MUDSLIDES. AS
COMMUNITIES IN THE DISTRICT AND
IN RURAL AREAS LIKE PARADISE AND
OTHERS ACROSS THE STATE GET BACK
TO THEIR FEET IN THE AFTERMATH
OF DISASTER AND CLIMATE FUELED
EVENTS, IT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAN
EVER TO INCORPORATE THE LESSONS
LEARNED THAT WE WILL HEAR ABOUT
TODAY, AND ALSO THE RECOVERY AND
RESPONSE PLANNING TO HELP
MINIMIZE THE IMPACT OF FUTURE
EVENTS. WE KNOW THAT FIRE,
FLOODING AND CATASTROPHIC
EARTHQUAKE EVENTS CAN HAVE
DEVASTATING AND ONGOING COST,
FOR OUR INFRASTRUCTURE. WE ALSO
KNOW THAT IT'S IMPORTANT TO
ADDRESS THESE ISSUES DESPITE THE
BUDGET, THE GIANT BUDGET DEFICIT
THIS YEAR. AND WE WILL NEED TO
BE PROACTIVE IN THINKING ABOUT
HOW TO MITIGATE THE THREATS AS
WE WORK TO ADAPT TO A CHANGING
CLIMATE, WE MUST ALSO DO SO
EQUITABLY AND IN A WAY THAT
BUILDS MORE RESILIENT
COMMUNITIES ACROSS OUR ENTIRE
STATE, RESOURCES FOR OUR
COMMUNITIES MUST BE SUSTAINABLE
UPFRONT SO THAT THEY WE HAVE THE
NECESSARY TOOLS AT OUR DISPOSAL
AND ALSO TO RESPOND QUICKLY AND
SWIFTLY TO THE NEXT, INCIDENT.
TODAY, I PERSONALLY HOPE TO
LEARN MORE FROM OUR SPEAKERS
ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR
EMERGENCY RESPONSE, AND ALSO OUR
ABILITY TO PARTNER WITH FEDERAL,
TRIBAL, LOCAL AND PRIVATE
STAKEHOLDERS TO REDUCE DISASTER
RISK AND PROTECT OUR NATURAL
RESOURCES, AS WELL AS HELP OUR
COMMUNITIES OVERALL BECOME MORE
RESILIENT, I LOOK FORWARD TO
HEARING THE TESTIMONIES FROM
STAKEHOLDERS TODAY AND HOPE THAT
WE CAN ALL COME TOGETHER TO
BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW WE MOVE
FORWARD IN LIGHT OF THE TOPIC
TODAY. SO APPRECIATE EVERYONE
BEING HERE AND APPRECIATE THE
CHAIR LEADING ON THIS. THANK
YOU. WITH THAT SAID, LET'S GO
AHEAD WITH OUR FIRST PANEL. AS A
REMINDER, WE WILL HOLD QUESTIONS
TILL THE END OF THE PRESENT. THE
BRIEF PRESENTATIONS FIRST PANEL
FIRST WILL HEAR FROM MARY JO
FLYNN EVANS, THE SACRAMENTO
COUNTY CHIEF OF EMERGENCY
SERVICES. AND EVERYONE CAN COME
FORWARD. AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE
DAMON COVINGTON, CHIEF OF, CITY
OF OAKLAND FIRE DEPARTMENT.
LAURIE NASURA, DEPUTY DIRECTOR
OF PLANNING, PREPAREDNESS AND
PREVENTION, CALIFORNIA OFFICE OF
OWES. AND ANELLE BALLOU, CHIEF
DEPUTY DIRECTOR, CALIFORNIA
DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY AND FIRE
PROTECTION, CAL FIRE. SO WITH
THAT, MARY JO. YOU MAY PROCEED.
IS THIS ON? OKAY. THANK YOU.
GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR RODRIGUEZ
AND VICE CHAIR LAMONT AND
MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE. MY
NAME IS MARY JO FLYNN EVANS, AND
I'M THE CHIEF OF EMERGENCY
SERVICES FOR SACRAMENTO COUNTY
OFFICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES.
THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME AND
ALLOWING ME TO DISCUSS EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT CONCERNS REGARDING
UTILITY LIFELINES. I'D LIKE TO
SHARE WITH YOU SOME COMMENTS ON
PAST EXPERIENCES, LIKE OF
LIFELINE DISRUPTIONS, THE
INTERCONNECTIVITY OF THESE
SYSTEMS, AND THE CASCADING
EFFECTS AND THE NEEDS EMERGENCY
MANAGERS HAVE IN PREPARING AND
RESPONDING TO THESE EVENTS. WE
KNOW THAT SEVERE UTILITY
DISRUPTIONS IMPACTING ENERGY,
WATER, AND COMMUNICATIONS
LIFELINES CAN BE CAUSED BY
SEVERAL EVENTS LOCALLY WITHIN
SACRAMENTO COUNTY, WE HAVE SEEN
THE DEVASTATING EFFECTS OF
SIGNIFICANT WINDSTORMS, HIGH
HEAT EVENTS, AND FIRES, JUST TO
NAME A FEW. IN THE LAST FEW
YEARS, OUR COUNTY, IN ADDITION
TO OTHER COUNTIES, WAS THE
RECIPIENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
POWER, SHUT OFF AND COMMUNITY
POWER RESILIENCE GRANTS THROUGH
THOSE GRANTS, WE WERE ABLE TO
SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A
SEVERE POWER OUTAGE HAZARD
ANNEX. THERE IS MUCH WORK TO BE
DONE IN IMPROVING AND IN
UPDATING THAT PLAN AND
COLLECTING DATA THAT WOULD AID
DECISION MAKING. UNFORTUNATELY,
AGENCIES, INCLUDING OURS WERE
HAMPERED BY SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES
FROM THE PANDEMIC AND BEING ABLE
TO ACQUIRE GENERATORS, BATTERIES
AND OTHER EQUIPMENT TO MITIGATE
DISASTERS. CONTINUED INVESTMENT
IN LOCAL AGENCIES WILL HELP TO
ENSURE READINESS IN TERMS OF
STAFFING, PLANNING AND
EQUIPMENT. I'D LIKE TO SHARE A
FEW SHORT EXAMPLES OF OUR
EXPERIENCES WITH SIGNIFICANT
POWER OUTAGES. WHILE SACRAMENTO
COUNTY IS SERVED BY A PUBLIC
UTILITY FOR POWER, WE'VE HAD
SEVERAL LARGE DISRUPTIONS THAT
HAVE IMPACTED OUR COMMUNITY.
MOST RECENTLY AS EARLY AS
FEBRUARY 4TH THIS YEAR, WHILE
MUCH OF THE STATE WAS
EXPERIENCING SIGNIFICANT
FLOODING, SACRAMENTO COUNTY SAW
THE EXTREME IMPACTS OF WIND
DURING THAT STORM. THERE WERE
500 OUTAGE EVENTS, OVER 200,000
CUSTOMERS WERE IMPACTED, OVER
100 POLES DAMAGED, AND OVER 300
DOWNED TREES THAT CAUSED DAMAGE
TO LINES. INITIAL DAMAGE
ESTIMATES FROM THE STORM
EXCEEDED $13 MILLION AND WAS
ADDED TO THE GOVERNOR'S STATE OF
EMERGENCY ON MARCH 22ND, BUT OUR
COUNTY WAS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR
PRESIDENTIAL DECLARATION. ONE OF
THE BIGGEST ISSUES OUR FIRST
RESPONDERS HAVE IN THESE
SITUATIONS IS MAINTAINING SAFETY
FOR THE PUBLIC AND ENSURING THAT
THE AREAS WHERE LINES ARE DOWN
ARE BLOCKED OFF UNTIL REPAIRS
CAN BE MADE. MANY TIMES, THIS
TAKES FIRST RESPONDERS OUT OF
SERVICE TO MANAGE THESE SCENES.
WHILE THERE HAVE BEEN GREAT
IMPROVEMENTS SINCE EVEN THE 2023
WINTER STORMS, SCENE SAFETY WILL
ALWAYS REQUIRE VALUABLE
RESOURCES. IN 2021, DURING A
PERIOD OF HIGH WINDS, A FIRE
DESTROYED OVER 25 MOBILE HOMES
ON BRANDON ISLAND IN THE
SACRAMENTO-SAN JOAQUIN DELTA.
POWER SHUT OFFS TO THE AREA WERE
A PRECAUTION FOR FIRST
RESPONDERS WORKING TO EXTINGUISH
THE FIRE, BUT ALSO TO PREVENT
ADDITIONAL FIRES FROM IGNITING.
THIS DIRECTLY IMPACTED THE RURAL
FIRE DEPARTMENT, LEADING THE
EFFORT TO PROTECT THE ISLAND.
THEIR STATION LOST POWER AND
THEY HAD NO ACCESS TO
COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERNET
SERVICE. WHILE THEIR STATION WAS
OUT OF POWER. RECENTLY, THIS
VOLUNTEER FIRE STATION RECEIVED
DIRECT FEDERAL GRANT FUNDING TO
SUPPORT THE ACQUISITION OF A
GENERATOR TO ENABLE
FUNCTIONALITY OF THEIR FIREHOUSE
. THIS GENERATOR WAS USED ON
FEBRUARY 4TH, JUST DAYS AFTER IT
WAS INSTALLED. I'LL REITERATE
THAT CONTINUED LOCAL INVESTMENT
IS NEEDED TO SUPPORT LOCAL
SPECIAL DISTRICTS WHO HAVE
MISSIONS TO SUPPORT THE
COMMUNITY, BUT DO NOT HAVE THE
LUXURY OF REGULAR FUNDING
STREAMS TO ACQUIRE NEEDED
EQUIPMENT, SUCH AS GENERATORS OR
POWER STORAGE SYSTEMS. ANOTHER
SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EVENT
IMPACTING COMMUNITY LIFELINES IS
EXTREME HEAT. IN 2017, A HIGH
HEAT INCIDENT LEFT A HOSPITAL
WITHOUT POWER ON THE CUSP OF
EVACUATION. AN EVACUATION WAS
CONSIDERED BECAUSE THE COOLING
SYSTEMS FOR CRITICAL COMPUTING
SERVER AREAS WERE NOT ON
GENERATOR BACKUP, AND THE
CONCERN OVER LOST PATIENT
RECORDS INFLUENCED DECISIONS AND
PLANNING FOR EVACUATION.
FORTUNATELY, THAT DID NOT COME
TO PASS, AS ALTERNATIVES FOR
COOLING WERE IDENTIFIED WITH
SIGNIFICANT LOGISTICAL STRAINS.
CHALLENGE WERE ULTIMATELY, I'M
SORRY, CHANGES ULTIMATELY WERE
MADE TO THE SERVER ROOM BECAUSE
OF THIS EXPERIENCE AND IT IS NOW
ABLE TO HAVE BACKUP GENERATOR
POWER FOR THEIR SERVER ROOM.
INVESTMENTS IN TECHNOLOGY THAT
PROTECT FROM EXTREME HEAT EVENTS
AND CONTINUE TO COOL CRITICAL
LOCATIONS AND INFRASTRUCTURE ARE
NECESSARY. Kò DURING SIGNIFICANT
OUTAGES. A WAIVER FROM THE
GOVERNOR AS PART OF THE STATE OF
EMERGENCY IS NECESSARY TO ALLOW
ALTERNATIVE POWER GENERATION.
THERE MAY BE GAPS BETWEEN WHEN A
LOCAL EMERGENCY PROCLAMATION IS
MADE AND WHEN THE GOVERNOR ADDS
A JURISDICTION TO THE STATE OF
EMERGENCY. FOR EXAMPLE, IN
RESPONSE TO THE FEBRUARY 4TH
STORMS, SACRAMENTO COUNTY
PROCLAIMED AN EMERGENCY ON
FEBRUARY 8TH AND RATIFIED THAT
EMERGENCY ON FEBRUARY 14TH. WE
WERE NOT ADDED TO THE GOVERNOR'S
PROCLAMATION OF EMERGENCY UNTIL
MARCH 22ND, ALLOWING LOCAL
AGENCIES MORE FLEXIBILITY AND
AUTHORITY FOR POWER GENERATION
WAIVERS. IN THE PERIOD BETWEEN
THE LOCAL PROCLAMATION THÀNH AND
THE GOVERNOR'S STATE OF
EMERGENCY WOULD BE HELPFUL.
STATEWIDE, WE HAVE SEEN
SIGNIFICANT DISRUPTION TO
SYSTEMS ALL HARKEN YOU BACK TO
2011, WHEN THERE WAS A
MULTI-STATE OUTAGE THAT AFFECTED
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, ARIZONA AND
MEXICO. THAT SAME YEAR, PASADENA
EXPERIENCED A SIGNIFICANT
WINDSTORM THAT LASTED OVER TWO
WEEKS FOR SOME OF THEIR
RESIDENTS IN RESPONSES TO
CATASTROPHIC FIRES, ALL REQUIRE
DEDICATED AND TRAINED STAFF TO
RESTORE SYSTEMS IN A TIMELY
MANNER. WHILE THE STATE IS
PRACTICED IN SENDING CREWS IN
RESPONSE VIA THE EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE COMPACT
OUT OF STATE EMERGENCY MANAGERS
WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE TRAINING
AND EXERCISES RELATED TO
BRINGING THOSE RESOURCES INTO
THE STATE IN SUPPORT OF
CATASTROPHIC COMMUNITY LIFELINE
FAILURES. WE NEED TO ANSWER
CRITICAL QUESTIONS SUCH AS WHO'S
GOING TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE
LOGISTICS, THE UTILITY PROVIDER,
THE LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGER, AND
WHAT EMAC RESOURCES OR LOGISTICS
WILL THE STATE SUPPORT?
SIGNIFICANT DISRUPTION TO
COMMUNITY LIFELINES CAN AND DO
CAUSE CASCADING EFFECTS SUCH AS
POWER DISRUPTION TO GAS PUMPS,
CREDIT CARD MACHINES, CELLULAR
TOWERS, BROADBAND AND MORE. IN
ONE AREA OF INTERCONNECTIVITY IS
OUR ALERT AND WARNING SYSTEMS.
THEY REQUIRE POWER, BROADBAND,
CELLULAR TECHNOLOGIES READY AND
AVAILABLE. PREVIOUS LEGISLATION
HAS GIVEN US ACCESS TO CONTACT
INFORMATION FROM UTILITY
PROVIDERS, AND THIS HAS BEEN A
WONDERFUL PARTNERSHIP IN
ACCESSING THAT INFORMATION TO
SUPPORT OUR ALERT AND WARNING
SYSTEMS. RURAL COMMUNITIES RELY
ON LANDLINE SYSTEMS, AS WELL AS
FUNCTIONING INTERNET AND
CELLULAR TO RECEIVE EMERGENCY
ALERTS. WE RISK ALERT AND
WARNING FAILURES TO RESIDENTS
DURING CRITICAL LIFELINE
DISRUPTIONS. WE CANNOT GUARANTEE
THAT MULTIPLE MESSAGES WILL BE
RECEIVED BY RESIDENTS IN ORDER
OR EVEN AT ALL. ALSO, IF
CELLULAR TECHNOLOGY IS IMPACTED,
SENDING MESSAGES WITH LINKS TO
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ARE
LIKELY TO FAIL. THAT IS WHY IT'S
IMPORTANT TO STANDARDIZE MESSAGE
WRITING AND DELIVERY TO INCREASE
THE LIKELIHOOD THAT THOSE
IMPORTANT MESSAGES WILL BE
RECEIVED, AND TO ENSURE ADEQUATE
TRANSLATION OF MESSAGES. WHEN
THE TECHNOLOGY ALLOWS CURRENT
TECHNOLOGY FOR THE FEDERAL
INTEGRATED PUBLIC ALERT AND
WARNING SYSTEM, OR IPAWS, ONLY
ALLOWS DELIVERY OF MESSAGES IN
ENGLISH AND SPANISH. THERE ARE
EFFORTS UNDERWAY TO EXPAND THE
LANGUAGES, BUT THOSE LIMITATIONS
ARE THE REALITY FOR EMERGENCY
MANAGERS NATIONWIDE. RESEARCH
SUCH AS DOCTOR JEANETTE SUTTON
FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBANY
HAVE DEVELOPED TOOLS SUCH AS THE
WARNING LEXICON AND RECOMMENDED
WAYS OF STRUCTURING ALERT AND
WARNING MESSAGES. WHEN LIFELINES
HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR
DISRUPTION. IT IS CRITICAL THAT
ALL AGENCIES ARE RELYING ON
RESEARCH AND EVIDENCE BASED
CRITERIA FOR DEVELOPING THOSE
ALERTS. THE INVESTMENT IN
TRAINING, FUNDING, ADDITIONAL
RESEARCH AND MESSAGING UNIQUE TO
CALIFORNIA AND TRAINING FOR
ALERT ORIGINATORS IS NECESSARY.
IN SUMMARY, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
NEEDS SIGNIFICANT DER. EXCUSE
ME, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT NEEDS
DURING SIGNIFICANT UTILITY
DISRUPTIONS ARE MANY INVESTMENTS
IN LOCAL GRANTS THAT SUPPORT
PLANNING, MITIGATION AND
EQUIPMENT CAN HELP TO IMPROVE
THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO A
COMMUNITY. SUPPORT TO RURAL
COMMUNITIES, VOLUNTEER FIRE
DISTRICTS AND SPECIAL DISTRICTS
IMPACTED BY LIFELINE DISRUPTIONS
ENABLED THEM TO ACCESS THE TOOLS
AND EQUIPMENT NECESSARY TO CARRY
OUT CRITICAL ROLES. INVESTMENT
IN RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGIES
THAT PROTECT AGAINST HEAT EVENTS
AND THAT PROVIDE PROTECTION FROM
CASCADING EVENTS WHERE ONE
LIFELINE FAILURE DISRUPTS OTHER
LIFELINES IS IMPORTANT.
SUPPORTING ACADEMIC RESEARCH IN
ALERT AND WARNING MESSAGING TO
ENSURE EQUITY, TIMELY DELIVERY
AND INVESTMENTS IN THE RESOURCES
NECESSARY TO TRAIN ALERT
ORIGINATORS THROUGHOUT THE STATE
IS NEEDED, AND ALLOWING LOCAL
AGENCIES TEMPORARY WAIVERS OF
AQMD RULES FOR UTILIZATION OF
GENERATORS IN THE GAP BETWEEN
THE LOCAL PROCLAMATION AND BEING
INCLUDED IN THE GOVERNOR'S STATE
OF EMERGENCY WOULD BE A GREAT
ADVANTAGE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH
FOR YOUR TIME, AND I'D BE HAPPY
TO RESPOND TO ANY QUESTIONS YOU
MAY HAVE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH
FOR YOUR INFORMATION, NEXT WE'LL
HEAR FROM CHIEF DAMON COVINGTON
FROM OAKLAND FIRE DEPARTMENT
WHEN YOU'RE READY, CHIEF. THANK
YOU, CHAIR RODRIGUEZ AND
COMMITTEE, I APPRECIATE YOUR
OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ON THIS
IMPORTANT, ENDEAVOR THAT WE'RE
ALL INVOLVED IN. AS YOU MAY
KNOW, OAKLAND HAS HAD MORE THAN
ITS SHARE OF NATURAL DISASTERS.
WITH THE LOMA PRIETA EARTHQUAKE
IN 1989, IN THE OAKLAND HILLS
FIRE IN 1991, WHICH WAS ONE OF
THE MOST DEVASTATING FIRES IN US
HISTORY. SO IN THE LAST 5 TO 6
YEARS, WE'VE HAD AT LEAST 8 TO
10 POWER UTILITY SHUTOFFS, WHICH
IN SOME WAYS HAS BEEN
DEVASTATING FOR OUR COMMUNITIES
BECAUSE THEY GO WITHOUT POWER
FOR DAYS AT A TIME, WHICH BRINGS
ITS OWN LEVEL OF, DEVASTATION TO
FAMILIES WHO NEED MEDICATION,
POWER, FOOD, ALL OF THOSE
THINGS, BUT IT HAS FORCED US TO
BECOME A BETTER PARTNER WITHIN
OUR REGION. WE'VE HAD TO PARTNER
WITH, ALL OF THE FIRE
DEPARTMENTS AND COUNTY
FACILITIES, OPEN UP OUR EOC.
WE'VE GOTTEN REALLY GOOD AT
THAT, ACTIVATING OUR EOC,
BECAUSE WE NEED TO HAVE A KIND
OF A BRAIN TRUST ON HOW WE'RE
GOING TO ATTACK THESE, THESE
SITUATIONS, WHETHER IT BE AN
ATMOSPHERIC RIVER, A WILDLAND
FIRE, OR EARTHQUAKE, WE'VE
REALLY KIND OF COME TOGETHER AS
A REGION TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE'RE
GOING TO DEAL WITH THIS. AND
WE'VE TRIED TO PARTNER AND
CONTINUE TO TRY AND PARTNER WITH
PUBLIC UTILITIES, TO MAKE SURE
THAT OUR NEEDS ARE BEING MET,
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE
DONE FROM A FIRE DEPARTMENT
STANDPOINT IS WE'VE DEVELOPED A
LOCAL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN,
OUR HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN IS
DEVELOPED TO HELP UNDERSTAND THE
REDUCE THE RISK FROM DISASTERS
TO PEOPLE, PROPERTY ECONOMY AND
ENVIRONMENT AND UNDERSTANDING
THE RISKS. WE IDENTIFY POTENTIAL
HAZARDS, DETERMINE THEIR
PROBABILITY OF OCCURRENCE, AND
IDENTIFY THEIR IMPACT TO THE
COMMUNITY. EARTHQUAKES WERE
RANKED THE HIGHEST HAZARD TO THE
CITY OF OAKLAND, WE HAVE THREE
MAJOR FAULT LINES WITHIN THE
CITY OF OAKLAND SAN ANDREAS,
HAYWARD AND CALAVERAS, THE CITY
OF OAKLAND LIES WITHIN THE SAN
ANDREAS FAULT SYSTEM. THE
LARGEST ONE IN CALIFORNIA, AND
THE FAULT LINE WITH THE
POTENTIAL FOR THE STRONGEST
EARTHQUAKES. MORE SPECIFICALLY,
THE CITY STRADDLES THE HAYWARD
FAULT, A BRANCH FAULT OF THE
LARGER SYSTEM. THE HAYWARD FAULT
RUNS ALONG THE SOUTHWESTERN BAY
OF THE EAST BAY HILLS AND
PARALLEL STATE HIGHWAY 13,
MAKING IT AN APPROXIMATE
PHYSICAL BOUNDARY BETWEEN THE
LOW LYING, URBANIZED PORTIONS OF
OAKLAND TO THE WEST AND THE LESS
DEVELOPED UPLAND AREAS OF THE
EAST. THE FAULTS TWO SEGMENTS,
EACH APPROXIMATELY 30 MILES
LONG, EXTEND FROM THE WARM
SPRINGS DISTRICT OF FREMONT TO
OAKLAND AND FROM OAKLAND TO
POINT PINOLE. SO AS YOU CAN SEE,
IT'S A VERY LARGE FOOTPRINT. THE
HAYWARD FAULT IS BELIEVED TO
ACCUMULATE STRAIN AT ONE OF THE
HIGHEST RATES IN THE BAY AREA,
SUGGESTING THAT IT IS ONE OF THE
FAULTS IN THE REGION MOST LIKELY
TO GENERATE A LARGE EARTHQUAKE.
IN FACT, THE FAULT IS ONE OF THE
MOST HAZARDOUS IN THE WORLD
BECAUSE OF ITS HIGH SLIP RATE.
IT DEMONSTRATES ABILITY TO
GENERATE LARGE SURFACE RUPTURING
EARTHQUAKES AND MOST IMPORTANTLY
, ITS LOCATION THROUGH A HEAVILY
URBANIZED AREA. FROM A CITY
PERSPECTIVE, WE'VE DEVELOPED OUR
STRATEGIC PLAN. WE'VE REALLY
TRIED TO IDENTIFY AUXILIARY
WATER SUPPLIES. WE'RE ASKING FOR
GRANT FUNDING TO HELP FACILITATE
SOME OF THE, RESCUE EFFORTS
WE'LL NEED IN THE EVENT OF THE
INEVITABLE EARTHQUAKE.
SIGNIFICANT PORTIONS OF THE CITY
HAVE EITHER A MODERATE OR HIGH
LIQUEFACTION SUSCEPTIBLE CITY.
WHAT ARE OUR WHAT ARE OUR
ACTIONS? ACTION PLAN TO MITIGATE
EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS, WE'VE
DEVELOPED A PLAN FOR A CITY OF
OAKLAND. SAFER HOUSING, SOFT
STORY APARTMENT RETROFIT
PROGRAM, WE ARE STILL
IDENTIFYING FUNDING, BUT WE'VE
IDENTIFIED 22,000 APARTMENT
BUILDINGS THAT NEED TO BE
RETROFITTED THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
SO THAT THEY CAN SURVIVE AN
EARTHQUAKE OF 5.0 OR GREATER,
CONTINUE THE EARTHQUAKE. SAFER
HOME PROGRAM, THIS IS, AN
OPPORTUNITY TO LEVERAGE THE
CITY'S EXISTING COMMUNITY
OUTREACH NETWORK, CURRENT
PIPELINE OF HOMES IN NEED OF
RETROFIT AND EXISTING HOMES,
REHAB INTAKE PROCESS TO SOLICIT
AND PROCESS APPLICATIONS
EXPEDITIOUSLY FOR THOSE HOMES
THAT WERE THAT ARE OLDER, HOMES
THAT WOULD NOT SURVIVE A GREAT A
GREAT IMPACT OF A 5.0 OR GREATER
EARTHQUAKE, CONTINUITY OF
CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS,
EMERGENCY PLANNING. OAKLAND FIRE
DEPARTMENT WILL CONTINUE TO
DEVELOP A CONTINUITY OF
OPERATIONS PLAN THAT INCLUDES
BACKUP STORAGE OF VITAL RECORDS
SUCH AS PLANS AND BACKUP
PROCEDURES TO PAY EMPLOYEES AND
VENDORS IF NORMAL FINANCE
DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS ARE
DISRUPTED, AS WELL AS OTHER
ESSENTIAL ELECTRONIC FILES.
IMPLEMENT THE CITY'S ENERGY
ASSURANCE PLAN THAT IS A KEY
PART OF THE CITY'S EMERGENCY AND
RECOVERY PLAN. EFFORTS
COMPONENTS OF THE PLAN TO BE
IMPLEMENTED UNDER THIS STRATEGY
ARE. ENERGY ASSESSMENT OF KEY
FACILITIES PRE-WIRED OF RAPID
CONNECTION, AND PROVISION OF
SUPPLEMENTAL BACKUP GENERATORS
FOR SUSTAINED REOCCUPATION AND
CONTINUING OF CITY HALL AND
POLICE ADMINISTRATION BUILDINGS
AS COMMUNITY CHARGING STATIONS
FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED TO CHARGE
BATTERIES AND VITAL NECESSITIES
DURING THE EARTHQUAKE AND ENERGY
BACKUP AND EMERGENCY SHELTERS
AND COMMUNITY AND COMMUNICATION
HUBS, DEVELOPMENT OF INTEGRATED
PREPAREDNESS PLAN TO SUPPORT
IMPLEMENTATION, IMPLEMENTATION
OF, AND FUTURE UPDATES TO THE
CITY'S LOCAL HAZARD MITIGATION
PLAN AND SAFETY ELEMENT AND
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ELEMENT.
UTILIZE THE BEST AVAILABLE LOCAL
DATA TO IDENTIFY RACIAL
DISPARITIES IN THE CITY OF
OAKLAND THAT CAN BE USED BY THE
CITY TO RANK RISK, AND
PRIORITIZE MITIGATION STRATEGIES
THAT INCORPORATE A RACIAL EQUITY
LENS. WE KNOW THAT ALL DISASTERS
ARE NOT EQUAL, AND SOME PEOPLE
ARE GOING TO BE AT GREATER RISK
THAN OTHERS. SO IN ORDER TO BE
PREPARED FOR THAT, WE HAVE BEEN
PREPARING AHEAD OF TIME TO
REALLY IDENTIFY WHO ARE MOST
VULNERABLE. POPULATION. ARE AND
MAKING SURE THAT WE GET TO THEM
FIRST. MARITIME TERMINAL STUDY
OF LIQUID LIQUEFACTION
POTENTIAL. THE PORT HAS
DETERMINED THAT IN ORDER TO
MITIGATE RISK AND PREPARE FOR
IMMINENT SEISMIC EVENTS, IT IS
NECESSARY TO CONDUCT A
LIQUEFACTION STUDY AT THE MARINE
TERMINALS. THE STUDY WILL
IDENTIFY AREAS AND FACILITY
FACILITIES, MOST AT RISK FOR
LIQUEFACTION, AND OUTLINE A PLAN
FOR MITIGATION, RETROFIT AND
EMERGENCY RESPONSE. WE ALSO HAVE
A VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT AND
ADAPTION PLAN AND CONJUNCTION
WITH THE UPDATE, OR ADOPT
ADAPTATION OF THE LOCAL HAZARD
MITIGATION PLAN, COMPLETE A
CITYWIDE VULNERABILITY
ASSESSMENT AND COMPREHENSIVE
ADAPTION PLAN ADDRESSING CLIMATE
RISKS USING FORWARD LOOKING
PROJECTIONS AND INCLUDING
COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDER
ENGAGEMENT. IMPLEMENT KEY
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THESE PLANS
BY 2025 TO ADDRESS MAJOR CLIMATE
RISKS AND FRONTLINE COMMUNITIES
FIRST, AND UPDATE THESE
DOCUMENTS EVERY FIVE YEARS WITH
EVOLVING CLIMATE AND RISK
PROJECTIONS AND ADAPTATION, AND
ADAPT BEST PRACTICES, WE'VE ALSO
REACHED OUT TO PG AND E A LOT OF
OUR MEMBERS ARE, VERY CONCERNED
ABOUT POWER LINES IN OUR HEELS.
WE ARE WE HAVE A VERY, DENSELY
POPULATED HILL ENVIRONMENT, AND
OF THE 10,000 MILES THAT PG AND
E HAS DESIGNATED FOR
UNDERGROUNDING, NONE OF THEM ARE
IN OAKLAND. SO WE'VE REACHED OUT
TO THEM TO AS HIGH LEVEL AS WE
CAN TO TRY AND PARTNER WITH THEM
AND EXPRESS TO THEM WITH OUR
HISTORY. I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE
FACTORS ARE THAT GO INTO WHO HAS
THEIR POWER LINES UNDER
UNDERGROUNDED, BUT WE CERTAINLY
SHOULD FIT THAT. THAT BILL.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU CHIEF.
APPRECIATE IT. NEXT, WE'LL HEAR
FROM LORI MASURA, DEPUTY
DIRECTOR OF PLANNING,
PREPAREDNESS AND PREVENTION AT
CAL OES. THANK YOU. AND GOOD
AFTERNOON. ASSEMBLY MEMBER
RODRIGUEZ, SENATOR LIMÓN OTHERS.
CAL SERVES AS THE STATE'S
LEADERSHIP HUB DURING ALL
EMERGENCIES AND DISASTERS, AND
PART OF OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO
MAINTAIN THE STATE EMERGENCY
PLAN AND MANAGE THE STANDARD
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, OR
SEMS, BOTH OF WHICH SET THE
FRAMEWORK FOR CALIFORNIA STATE
LEVEL EMERGENCY RESPONSE
OPERATIONS. AND WE PROVIDE
GUIDANCE, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
AND RESOURCES TO LOCAL
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO ASSIST IN
THEIR PREPAREDNESS EFFORTS.
BECAUSE WHEN LOCAL AND STATE
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES EMERGENCY
PLANNING GOALS ARE ALIGNED, THE
OVERALL RESPONSE TO DISASTERS IS
MORE EFFICIENT AND BETTER ABLE
TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY.
THE CASCADING IMPACTS FROM
DISASTERS SUCH AS UTILITY
DISRUPTIONS, FUEL SHORTAGES AND
IMPACTS TO CRITICAL LIFELINES
HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO CAUSE FAR
REACHING AND LONG LASTING
IMPACTS TO OUR COMMUNITIES,
ESPECIALLY TO THE ACCESS AND
FUNCTIONAL NEEDS COMMUNITY THAT
ARE POWER DEPENDENT. BUT OVER
THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, OUR
STATE HAS ALSO EXPERIENCED
PLANNED UTILITY DISRUPTIONS
STEMMING FROM PUBLIC SAFETY,
POWER SHUT OFFS OR PSPS. AS YOU
HAVE ALREADY IDENTIFIED. I'LL
PROVIDE A BRIEF HISTORY OF
KILAUEA'S ENGAGEMENT ON THE
CHALLENGES OF POWER SHUTOFFS TO
HIGHLIGHT THE EVOLUTION OF OUR
UNDERSTANDING ON THIS ISSUE IN
RESPONSE TO THE ENERGY CRISIS OF
2001, THEN GOVERNOR DAVIS ISSUED
AN EXECUTIVE ORDER DIRECTING
KILAUEA'S TO DEVELOP A PLAN FOR
NOTIFYING THE PUBLIC, PUBLIC
SAFETY AGENCIES AND THE MEDIA
WITH TIMELY INFORMATION ON
IMMINENT AND POTENTIAL BLACKOUTS
. THIS RESULTED IN THE
DEVELOPMENT OF THE KILAUEA'S
ELECTRIC POWER DISRUPTION
TOOLKIT FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND
IDENTIFIES POSSIBLE ACTIONS THAT
CITY AND OR COUNTY GOVERNMENTS
CAN TAKE TO PROTECT. EXCUSE ME.
PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
DURING ELECTRIC POWER
DISRUPTIONS REGARDING LOSS OF
THEIR CAUSE. THE TOOLKIT WAS
UPDATED IN 2022 TO REFLECT THE
INCREASING USE OF PSPS BY
ELECTRIC UTILITIES. WHILE WE
WERE FAMILIAR WITH POWER
DISRUPTIONS FROM PAST EVENTS,
THE INCREASING UTILIZATION OF
PSPS BY UTILITY COMPANIES IN
2019 BROUGHT A WHOLE NEW LEVEL
OF EXPECTATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS
ON BOTH STATE AND LOCAL
GOVERNMENTS. THE FALL OF 2019
WAS TOUGH FOR OUR COMMUNITIES,
AS POWER THROUGHOUT THE STATE
WAS BEING SHUT OFF IN WIDE AREAS
AND FOR LONG DURATIONS OF TIME
THROUGH CLOSE COORDINATION WITH
UTILITY COMPANIES AND A LOT OF
HARD WORK BY KILAUEA'S CPUC AND
OTHER STATE ENTITIES, WE'VE
MANAGED TO IMPROVE INFORMATION
SHARING. SO WE HAVE THE VITAL
INFORMATION WE NEED QUICKLY. AND
TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF HOW
THAT, INFORMATION SHARING WORKS,
KIND OF BEHIND THE SCENES IN
EARLY 2021, I'LL TAKE YOU BACK
THERE TO COVID 19. WHEN THE
VACCINES WERE FIRST HITTING THE
STATE, WE HAD A LIMITED NUMBER
OF ENTITIES STORING AND WITH
ACCESS TO VACCINES, WE WERE ALSO
EXPERIENCING SOME PSPS, AND WE
CONTACTED THE ELECTRIC UTILITIES
AND WE GAVE THEM A LIST OF
STORAGE FACILITIES AND DISCUSSED
WITH THEM THE EXTREME IMPORTANCE
THAT PSPS NOT, DISRUPT THE
COOLANT, SO THAT WE WOULD NOT
LOSE ANY OF THOSE VACCINES. THEY
WORKED WITH US VERY CLOSELY. WE
DIDN'T HAVE A SINGLE INCIDENT
THAT IMPACTED OUR VACCINE SUPPLY
, WE'VE COME A LONG WAY SINCE
2019 REGARDING THE FREQUENCY,
DURATION, AND SCALE OF PSPS
EVENTS, RESULTING IN A DRAMATIC
REDUCTION OF IMPACTS FELT BY OUR
COMMUNITIES. ALTHOUGH IT IS
STILL THERE. ONE OF THE WAYS
KILAUEA'S HAS HELPED THE UTILITY
REYES IMPROVE THEIR EMERGENCY
PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE IS BY
CREATING TRAINING COURSES FOR
UTILITIES, JUST LIKE WE HAVE FOR
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS PROVIDING THIS
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SPECIFIC
TRAINING TO UTILITY PERSONNEL
HAS HELPED THEM OPERATE DURING
EMERGENCIES WITHIN THE STATE
CONSTRUCT AND ALLOWS THEM TO
SEAMLESSLY INTEGRATE INTO THE
STATE OPERATIONS CENTER DURING
DISASTERS, AS YOU MIGHT HEAR
THEM TESTIFY, TESTIFY TO IN THE
NEXT PANEL, WHICH IS BECOMING A
GREATER PART OF OUR COORDINATION
AND COLLABORATION EFFORTS. SO TO
DATE, I'M HAPPY TO SAY 3046
STAFF FROM PG AND E, C AND S, D
AND E HAVE COMPLETED OUR CEMS
COURSE. THAT'S OUR STANDARDIZED
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
COURSE, WHICH TEACHES THE STATE
CONSTRUCT FOR RUNNING EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT. ADDITIONALLY, 15
STAFF FROM THE VARIOUS UTILITIES
HAVE COMPLETED OR ARE IN THE
PROCESS OF COMPLETING WHAT WE
CALL A TYPE THREE CALORIES
EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER
CREDENTIAL. IN THE 20 1920
BUDGET ACT INCLUDED A $75
MILLION, ONE TIME GENERAL FUND
APPROPRIATION TO SUPPORT STATE
AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO
PROTECT PUBLIC SAFETY,
VULNERABLE POPULATIONS, AND
IMPROVE RESILIENCE AND RESPONSE
TO UTILITY LED PSPS ACTIONS, YOU
ALREADY HEARD MY COLLEAGUE FROM
SACRAMENTO SPEAK TO THEIR
RECEIPT OF THAT PARTICULAR GRANT
UNDER THE AUSPICES OF CPUC
GUIDELINES AND IN CLOSE
PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CALIFORNIA
INDEPENDENT SYSTEM OPERATOR, ISO
CAL, CAL YESTERDAY PLAYS AN
INTEGRAL ROLE. IN CONSEQUENCE,
MANAGER DUE TO PSPS EVENTS AS
WELL AS UNPLANNED UTILITY
DISRUPTIONS. CAL OES
RESPONSIBILITIES DURING PSPS
EVENTS INCLUDE SUPPORTING ALERT
AND WARNING EFFORTS WHEN A PSPS
IS IMMINENT, IDENTIFYING AND
PRIORITIZING CRITICAL
FACILITIES, IDENTIFYING THE
POPULATIONS MOST VULNERABLE TO
POWER SHUTOFF, ESPECIALLY
PERSONS DEPENDENT ON ELECTRIC
POWER FOR MEDICAL NEEDS AND
EXECUTING THE RESPONSE
OPERATIONS THROUGH THE STATE
OPERATIONS CENTER DURING AN
ACTIVE EVENT. ADDITIONALLY,
UTILITIES ARE REQUIRED TO NOTIFY
THE CALIFORNIA STATE WARNING
CENTER AT CAL OES PRIOR TO
INITIATING A PSPS EVENT AND MUST
PROVIDE RELEVANT OUTAGE DATA.
CAL OES COORDINATES EFFORTS
THROUGH PUBLIC, PUBLIC PRIVATE
PARTNERSHIPS TO IDENTIFY UNMET
NEEDS FOR ALL IMPACTED
COMMUNITIES, WITH A SPECIAL
EMPHASIS ON VULNERABLE
POPULATIONS. DEPENDING ON LOCAL
CONDITIONS, THESE NEEDS COULD
INCLUDE DATA ON IMPACTED
POPULATIONS, REGISTRIES ON
VOLUNTEER RESOURCES, AND
CAPACITY FOR DIRECT SERVICES
SUCH AS BACKUP GENERATORS,
BOTTLED WATER AND COOLING
CENTERS. THE POWER DISRUPTION
TOOLKIT THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER
CONTAINS THE CONCEPT OF
OPERATIONS THAT CAL OES USES
DURING ALL POWER SHUT OFF
EMERGENCIES, INCLUDING PSPS. AS
EMERGENCY MANAGERS, WE KNOW ALL
TOO WELL THE CASCADING EFFECT OF
POWER DISRUPTIONS OCCURRING
SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH ELEVATED
WILDFIRE RISK. CHIEF AMONG THESE
ARE DISRUPTIONS TO THE FUEL
SUPPLY AND COMMUNICATIONS
LIFELINES ESSENTIAL TO FIRST
RESPONDERS. SO THE EXTREME
TEMPERATURES RESPONSE PLAN THAT
WAS DEVELOPED BY CAL OES IN
PARTNERSHIP WITH OTHER STATE
AGENCIES, IS YET ANOTHER TOOL IN
WHICH WE HAVE SOUGHT TO
ANTICIPATE IMPACTS AND DEVELOP
RESPONSE STRATEGIES FOR EXTREME
WEATHER EVENTS THAT TEND TO
DISRUPT CRITICAL LIFELINES,
INCLUDING CAUSING POWER
DISRUPTIONS. AS CHALOUHI LEADS A
FUELS TASK FORCE THAT SERVES AS
AN INFORMATION HUB FOR FUEL
AVAILABILITY DURING AND BEFORE
AN EMERGENCY, INCLUDING POWER
DISRUPTIONS. THIS TASK FORCE
INCLUDES REPRESENTING LIVES FROM
KEY STATE AGENCIES SUCH AS THE
CALIFORNIA ENERGY COMMISSION,
CALIFORNIA MILITARY DEPARTMENT,
THE DEPARTMENT OF GENERAL
SERVICES, AND CALTRANS. THE
FUELS TASK FORCE INCLUDES
REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE
CALIFORNIA UTILITIES EMERGENCY
ASSOCIATION, OR CæA, ACTING ON
BEHALF OF INDIVIDUAL UTILITY
COMPANIES THROUGH A MEMORANDUM
OF UNDERSTANDING. THE CæA ACTS
AS AN AGENT OF THE STATE TO
PROVIDE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS
SUPPORT FOR GAS, ELECTRIC,
WATER, WASTEWATER,
TELECOMMUNICATIONS, AND
PETROLEUM PIPELINE UTILITIES.
CæA STAFF ARE PERMANENTLY
LOCATED AT CAL OES AND WORK
ALONGSIDE STATE EMERGENCY
MANAGERS IN THE STATE OPERATIONS
CENTER. DURING DISASTERS. WHILE
CæA ARE GREAT PARTNERS OF OURS,
THERE ARE TIMES WE WORK DIRECTLY
WITH UTILITIES TO MEET THE NEEDS
OF CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS. AS
RECENTLY AS TWO WEEKENDS AGO,
WHEN RESPONDING TO A SLIP OUT OF
ON HIGHWAY ONE INCH THE BIG SUR
AREA, CALTRANS AND CHP WORKED
WITH LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT TO
EVACUATE CAMPERS AND RESIDENTS,
UTILIZING ESCORTED CONVOYS. THE
CALIFORNIA EMERGENCY SUPPORT
FUNCTION FOR COMMUNICATIONS, OR
ESF TWO, AS WE CALL THEM, LED BY
CAL OES PUBLIC SAFETY
COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION,
COORDINATED DIRECTLY WITH
PRIVATE SECTOR COMMUNICATIONS
COMPANIES TO BRING IN PORTABLE
COMMS SOLUTIONS TO ENSURE PUBLIC
SAFETY AGENCIES EFFECTUATING THE
EVACUATIONS COULD COMMUNICATE
WITH EACH OTHER IN AN AREA OF
THE COAST THAT HAS KNOWN SPOTTY
COVERAGE. MAINTAINING THIS TWO
WAY COMMUNICATION CHANNEL PUN
INTENDED WITH THE PRIVATE
SECTOR, IS CRUCIAL TO ENSURING
THAT EMERGENCY RESPONSE EFFORTS
ARE COMPREHENSIVE, AGILE AND
EFFECTIVE. CAL OES HAS MADE
SUBSTANTIAL INVESTMENTS IN
CATASTROPHIC INCIDENT PLANNING,
WHICH INCLUDE OUR STRATEGIC AND
TACTICAL APPROACH TO POWER
DISRUPTIONS IS INCLUDED IN EACH
OF OUR CATASTROPHIC PLANS. OUR
ASSUMPTIONS THAT DISRUPTIONS TO
CRITICAL LIFELINES, UTILITIES
AND THE FUEL SUPPLY WILL OCCUR.
THE 2022 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
CATASTROPHIC EARTHQUAKE PLAN IS
THE MOST RECENTLY SIGNED EXAMPLE
OF OUR ANTICIPATED IMPACTS AND
RESPONSE STRATEGY FOR
DISRUPTIONS TO CRITICAL
LIFELINES. APPENDIX C SEVEN OF
THE PLAN EXAMINES INTERCONNECTED
INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEMS. THE
IMPORTANT ROLE THE PRIVATE
SECTOR PLAYS IN THAT NETWORK,
AND THE RECOMMENDED MULTI-AGENCY
COORDINATION GROUP OR MAC GROUP
STRUCTURE FOR ALLOCATING SCARCE
RESOURCES. THE PLAN OUTLINES HOW
A GENERATOR OR TEMPORARY POWER
TASK FORCE WOULD SUPPORT
TEMPORARY PROVISION OF POWER
DEPENDENT LIFELINE SERVICES
UNTIL POWER CAN BE JUST
RESTORED. SERVICES DISCUSSED
INCLUDE COMMUNICATIONS, HEALTH
AND MEDICAL, TRANSPORTATION,
COMMODITY SUPPLY AND
DISTRIBUTION, PUBLIC SAFETY AND
SECURITY, SHELTERING, FINANCE
AND AGRICULTURE, AND COMMERCIAL
COMMERCIAL FOOD FACILITIES
SPECIFIC TO LIFELINE
DISRUPTIONS. REFINED PETROLEUM
PIPELINE SERVICES REPRESENT A
DISTINCT FOCUS IN COLLABORATING
WITH PRIVATE UTILITY COMPANIES
TO AVOID CASCADING IMPACTS
THROUGH TARGETED ACTION BY THE
FUELS TASK FORCE, SOLUTIONS ARE
FOUND, SUCH AS DRAWING DOWN
LOCAL RESERVE SUPPLIES, BRINGING
IN ADDITIONAL TRUCKING CAPACITY,
OR ENHANCING INTELLIGENCE
GATHERING ON REGIONAL SUPPLIES.
THANKS TO THESE EFFORTS AND THE
CLOSE COORDINATION BY STATE AND
LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND THE PRIVATE
SECTOR, WE ARE ABLE TO AVOID
SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS. TO THE
STATE. OUR CHALLENGES ARE
INCREASING. AS WITH OTHER
EVOLVING HAZARDS FACING
CALIFORNIA, EFFECTIVELY MANAGING
FUEL AND POWER DISRUPTIONS
REQUIRES GOOD INFORMATION. THÀNH
COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING AND
COLLABORATION AT ALL LEVELS, AS
OUR PARTNERS IN THE UTILITY
SECTOR WILL TELL YOU GREATER
RESILIENCE AND REDUNDANCY.
REDUNDANCY IN UTILITY CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE IS PARAMOUNT. I'M
HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS
ABOUT CAL OES EFFORTS IN THIS
AREA, AND LOOK FORWARD TO
HEARING MY COLLEAGUES TESTIMONY.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO
TESTIFY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR
THAT AS WELL. AND FINALLY, WE'LL
HEAR FROM EMILIE BERLO, CHIEF
DEPUTY DIRECTOR FROM CAL FIRE,
WHEN YOU'RE READY. AFTERNOON.
THANK YOU. CHAIR RODRIGUEZ, VICE
CHAIR LIMÓN AND THE COMMITTEE
MEMBERS. MY NAME IS ANNALEE
BURLEW, AND I AM THE CHIEF
DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR CAL FIRE.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO
TESTIFY TODAY ON THE TOPIC OF
CRITICAL LIFELINE DISRUPTIONS
AND MORE SPECIFICALLY, HOW CAL
FIRE IS TIED INTO PLANNING FOR
CATASTROPHIC EVENTS AND CAL FIRE
AND EXCUSE ME AND HOW CAL FIRE
PREPARES FOR UTILITY CAUSED
WILDFIRES. I'D LIKE TO BEGIN BY
OUTLINING WHAT RESOURCES CAL
FIRE BRINGS TO THE TABLE. CAL
FIRE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR
PROTECTING 31 MILLION ACRES OF
CALIFORNIA, AND ITS JURISDICTION
EXTENDS THE LENGTH AND THE
BREADTH OF THE STATE. WE ARE
KNOWN FOR OUR EXTRAORDINARY
RESPONSE TO EMERGENCIES AND ARE
ALWAYS READY TO RESPOND, WHETHER
TO WILDFIRES, STRUCTURE FIRES,
AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS, MEDICAL
AID, SWIFT WATER RESCUES, CIVIL
DISTURBANCES, LOST HIKERS,
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS, SPILLS,
TRAIN WRECKS, FLOODS,
EARTHQUAKES OR TERRORIST
ATTACKS. CAL FIRE RESPONDS TO
OVER 500,000 EMERGENCIES EACH
YEAR AT THE HEART OF OUR
EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND RESOURCE
PROTECTION CAPACITY IS A FORCE
OF 12,000 FULL TIME AND SEASONAL
FIRE FIGHTING PROFESSIONALS,
FORESTERS, LAW ENFORCEMENT
OFFICERS, INSPECTORS AND
ADMINISTRATIVE EMPLOYEES, PLUS
3000 CALIFORNIA NATIONAL GUARD
MEMBERS, CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION
CORPS MEMBERS, INMATES AND YOUTH
OFFENDERS THAT CURRENTLY PARTNER
WITH CAL FIRE IN THE STAFFING OF
OUR HAND CREWS. CAL FIRE
OPERATES OVER 1000 STATE AND
LOCAL GOVERNMENT OWNED FIRE
ENGINES, RESOURCE. EXCUSE ME.
RESCUE SQUADS. PARAMEDIC UNITS.
HAZMAT UNITS. AERIAL LADDER
TRUCKS. BULLDOZERS. MOBILE
COMMUNICATION CENTERS AND MOBILE
MOBILE KITCHEN UNITS FROM THE
AIR. CAL FIRE OPERATES 23 1200
GALLON AIR TANKERS, 11
HELICOPTER DÍAS 17 AIR TACTICAL
PLANES AND INTELLIGENCE
GATHERING PLANE AND STARTING
THIS YEAR, WE ARE HAPPY TO BE
OPERATIONALIZING THE FIRST OF
SEVEN CAL FIRE OWNED C-130 AIR
TANKERS, WHICH WILL BE CAPABLE
OF DELIVERING 4000 GALLONS OF
FIRE RETARDANT CAL FIRE'S
FIREFIGHTING AIRPLANES,
HELICOPTERS, FIRE ENGINES,
BULLDOZERS AND OTHER RESOURCES
ARE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED AND
STRATEGICALLY LOCATED THROUGHOUT
THE STATE. CAL FIRE'S TYPE ONE
ALL HAZARD INCIDENT MANAGEMENT
TEAMS ARE ROUTINELY RELIED UPON
TO RESPOND TO AND MANAGE
CATASTROPHIC EVENTS THROUGHOUT
THE STATE FOR EXAMPLE, DURING
THE 2023 WINTER STORMS, CAL FIRE
TEAMS WERE ACTIVATED FOR 53 DAYS
SUPPORTING MONO AND INYO
COUNTIES AND THE FLOODING IN
TULARE COUNTY. IN ADDITION, OUR
INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM WAS
ALSO DEPLOYED TO THE COUNTY OF
MAUI ON THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FOR
28 DAYS, WHERE THERE WE
SUPPORTED THEIR EMERGENCY
OPERATIONS CENTER. CAL FIRE IS
AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT IN THE
STATE'S EMERGENCY PLAN. LIKE MY
PARTNER LORI FROM OHS TALKED
ABOUT AND IS IDENTIFIED AS A
RESOURCE PROVIDER FOR TEN OF THE
18 CALIFORNIA EMERGENCY SERVICE
FUNCTIONS LISTED IN THE PLAN.
WHILE CAL FIRE IS OBVIOUS,
FUNCTIONS INCLUDE FIRE AND
RESCUE AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
I WOULD LIKE TO CALL ATTENTION
TO SOME OF THE LESSER KNOWN
FUNCTIONS THAT THE DEPARTMENT'S
RESOURCES SUPPORT CONSTRUCTION
AND ENGINEERING. WE PROVIDE
INSPECTORS FOR BUILDING DAMAGE
AND LIFE SAFETY INSPECTIONS,
MASS CARE AND SHELTER
SHELTERING, MOBILIZING, MOBILE
FEEDING UNITS. WE HAVE 11 MOBILE
KITCHEN UNITS THAT CAN BE
ACTIVATED THROUGHOUT THE STATE
TO HELP PROVIDE FEEDING, PUBLIC
HEALTH AND MEDICAL. WE PROVIDE
FOR MEDICAL AND OTHER ASSOCIATED
EMERGENCY RESPONSE PERSONNEL
TRAINING AND PLANNING
ASSISTANCE. AN EXAMPLE OF THIS
WAS DURING THE COVID MASS
VACCINE SITES IN OAKLAND AND LOS
ANGELES. CAL FIRE WAS CALLED
UPON TO ASSIST OES AND FEMA IN
THE STANDING UP OF THOSE SITES
AND PROVIDING PERSONNEL TO HELP
WITH PROVIDING Ã VACCINATIONS.
CAL FIRE'S SACRAMENTO COMMAND
CENTER IS STRATEGICALLY LOCATED
AT THE STATE OPERATIONS CENTER
AT OES HEADQUARTERS. THIS ALLOWS
FOR 24 OVER SEVEN COORDINATION
BETWEEN CAL FIRE AND OES IN
SUPPORT OF ALL INCIDENT TYPES.
THIS SUPPORT WAS EVIDENT DURING
THE 2023 WINTER STORMS, WHEN CAL
FIRE RESOURCES RESPONDED TO 20
MISSIONS TOTALING 206 TASKS IN
33 OF THE 58 COUNTIES THROUGHOUT
THE STATE. IN ADDITION TO CAL
FIRE'S STATE LEVEL RESPONSE,
EACH OF OUR OF CAL FIRE'S 21
ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS MAINTAIN
AUTOMATIC AND MUTUAL AID
AGREEMENTS WITH LOCAL
COMMUNITIES AND MUNICIPALITIES
TO EXPEDITE ASSISTANCE AND
RESOURCE RESPONSE TO LOCAL
INCIDENTS. IN REGARD IN REGARDS
TO CAL FIRE'S PREPARATION FOR
UTILITY CAUSED FIRES AT THE
LOCAL, REGIONAL AND STATEWIDE
LEVEL, CAL FIRE IS CONTINUOUSLY
MONITORING WEATHER AND FUELS IN
AN EFFORT TO IDENTIFY CONDITIONS
AND AREAS THAT ARE AT HIGH RISK
FOR WILDFIRES. REGARDLESS OF THE
CAUSE. CAL FIRE PRE-POSITIONED
RESOURCES AND AUGMENTS INCIDENT
RESPONSES BASED ON THOSE THREATS
. ONE OF THE RESOURCES THAT CAL
FIRE UTILIZES FOR WEATHER AND
FUEL MONITORING IS THE WILDFIRE
FORECAST, AND THREAT
INTELLIGENCE INTEGRATION CENTER,
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE WOLF
TICK. IN 2019, SB 209 TASKED CAL
OES AND CAL FIRE TO JOINTLY
ESTABLISH A FIRST OF ITS KIND
CENTER FOCUSED ON WILDFIRE
FORECASTING WILDFIRE RISK HAZARD
AND THREAT ASSESSMENTS, FIRE
WEATHER AND FIRE BEHAVIOR, AND
INTELLIGENCE GATHERING, ANALYSIS
AND DISSEMINATION TO ENSURE A
COLLECTIVE APPROACH TO
DETERMINING WILDFIRE FORECASTS
AND THREATS. THE CALIFORNIA
PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION, CAL
GUARD, THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE, US FOREST SERVICE, THE
UTILITY COMPANIES, AND ACADEMIA
ALL PARTICIPATE IN THE WOLF
TICK. IN ADDITION, CAL FIRE'S
UTILITY MITIGATION PROGRAM WORKS
CLOSELY WITH THE OFFICE OF
EMERGENCY INFRASTRUCTURE AND
SAFETY AND THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC
UTILITY COMMISSION TO REVIEW
UTILITY WILDFIRE MITIGATION
PLANS TO TRY TO REDUCE THE
OCCURRENCE OF NEW WILDLAND FIRE
IGNITIONS. CAL FIRE ALSO
PARTICIPATES IN STATE EXECUTIVE
LEVEL PUBLIC SAFETY POWER, SHUT
OFF BRIEFINGS HOSTED BY THE
UTILITY COMPANIES DURING PSPS
EVENTS. THESE BRIEFINGS ASSIST
IN ENSURING THAT ALL AGENCIES
ARE TRACKING FORECASTED
CONDITIONS AND ALLOW CAL FIRE TO
IDENTIFY AND ADDRESS ANY IMPACT
TO OPERATIONAL CAPABILITIES
BASED ON THE PLANNED POWER SHUT
OFFS. CAL FIRE'S EXPERIENCE IN
RECENT YEARS WITH SOME OF THE
MOST DESTRUCTIVE WILDFIRES IN
OUR RECORDED HISTORY, HAS
ILLUSTRATED THE IMPORTANCE OF
PREPAREDNESS, PARTNERSHIPS AND
COLLABORATION AT THE STATE,
LOCAL AND FEDERAL LEVEL. WE HAVE
RECOGNIZED THAT WE CAN'T DO IT
ALONE AND ARE DEDICATED TO
COLLABORATION IN THE SUCCESSFUL
RESPONSE TO AND MITIGATION OF
ALL CATASTROPHIC EVENTS ACROSS
OUR STATE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR
TIME, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO
ANSWERING ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY
HAVE. THANK YOU SENATOR, ANY
QUESTIONS? THANK YOU SO I JUST
WANT TO THANK YOU ALL, AND I
THINK AS I HEAR YOU ALL GIVE A
PRESENTATION AND CERTAINLY YOU
RECOGNIZE AND YOU EACH KIND OF
TALKED ABOUT JUST THE DIFFERENT
GEOGRAPHICAL ASPECTS OF
CALIFORNIA, OAKLAND, WE TALKED
YOU KNOW, RURAL AREAS AND HOW
THAT SHIFTS. YOU TALKED ABOUT
THE COAST, THE RESILIENCY
ISSUES. I MEAN, THERE WERE A LOT
OF GEOGRAPHICAL, MENTIONS MADE.
HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERIZE THE
RIPPLE EFFECTS OF WHAT WE'VE
LEARNED, FROM SOME OF THESE
SITUATIONS? I THINK THAT, YOU
KNOW, IN A WORLD WHERE WE'RE
THINKING ABOUT BUDGET AND THE
RIPPLE EFFECT THAT THE LACK OF A
BUDGET IS GOING TO HAVE, I'M
ALSO THINKING ABOUT THE POLICY
RIPPLE EFFECTS, OF BEING ABLE TO
DEPLOY RESOURCES TO ONE AREA
FASTER THAN OTHER, FOR, YOU
KNOW, FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS.
I'M THINKING OF, HIGHWAY ONE
RIGHT NOW, AND THE FACT THAT,
YOU KNOW, FOR A DAY THERE WERE
15,000 PEOPLE STUCK THERE. AND
THOSE THINGS ARE NOT GETTING
BETTER. SO GEOGRAPHICALLY, CAN
YOU SPEAK ON ANY RIPPLE EFFECTS
THAT YOU'RE SEEING OF HOW YOU
UNDERSTAND THIS? ARE THERE
CERTAIN REGIONS OR GEOGRAPHIES
THAT WE SHOULD BE PAYING A
DIFFERENT ATTENTION? I DON'T
WANT TO SAY MORE BECAUSE I THINK
THEY ALL NEED IT. AND AGAIN,
ABSOLUTELY, IN THE URBAN AREAS
WE NEED IT TOO. BUT I'M JUST
THINKING OF ALL OF THESE
EXAMPLES IN THE URBAN AREAS.
VERY LIKELY TO SEE MORE HUMAN
IMPACTED BY SOMETHING LIKE AN
EARTHQUAKE, RIGHT, BECAUSE OF
THE MASS AND THE DENSITY. BUT
JUST THINKING ABOUT GEOGRAPHY A
LITTLE BIT MORE. WELL, I'LL JUMP
IN ONE OF THE WAYS THAT WE'VE
DONE THIS AT CAL OLWEUS. AND OF
COURSE, IT'S AN ALL OF STATE
RESPONSE EFFORT IS WE'VE CREATED
THE PRIORITY POPULATIONS TASK
FORCE. SO THE INTENT BEHIND THAT
IS I THINK GETS TO SIMILAR TO
WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. AND
THAT IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE
LOOKING DOWN THE ROAD AND
ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF
VULNERABLE POPULATIONS BEFORE
THEY ARISE, SO THAT THAT'S ONE.
AND THEN MOVING OR WHAT WE CALL
PRE-POSITIONING RESOURCES TO
WHERE THEY NEED TO GO, MY
COLLEAGUE AT CAL FIRE ALSO
MENTIONED THE WOLF TICK AND HOW
IT IS USED TO, FOR DATA AND
BACKGROUND IN ORDER TO
SUCCESSFULLY PRE-POSITION OUR,
OUR WILDFIRE AND EVEN SWIFT
WATER RESCUE RESOURCES TO
LOCATIONS. WE'VE DONE THAT ALL,
ALL WINTER LONG. REALLY, EVERY,
EVERY TIME WE HAVE A STORM IN
CALIFORNIA, YOU CAN BE ASSURED
THAT WE'VE PRE-POSITION
RESOURCES BASED ON OUR WEATHER
INTEL, SO THAT WE CAN CUT THAT
TIME TO RESPONSE THAT YOU'RE
TALKING ABOUT. CAN I ASK YOU
ABOUT THAT REALLY QUICKLY,
PRIORITY POPULATIONS TASK FORCE.
I'M NOT ACTUALLY SURE THAT I
KNEW ABOUT THAT. SO IS THAT
SOMETHING THAT'S WELL KNOWN? IS
IT NOT? IS IT INTERNAL? IT'S A
IT'S A COUPLE YEARS IN THE, IN
THE MAKING. IT'S MADE UP OF
VARIOUS STATE AGENCIES, REYES,
PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS,
IT'S LED AT KILAUEA'S KIND OF A
TRI, LEADERSHIP FROM OUR OFFICE
OF ACCESS AND FUNCTIONAL NEEDS,
OUR OFFICE OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY
AND INCLUSION AND OUR OFFICE OF
PRIVATE SECTOR AND
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
COORDINATION, SO THEY KIND OF
PUT THIS ALL TOGETHER, BUT I
ACTUALLY HAVE A COLLEAGUE
SITTING BEHIND ME THAT KNOWS A
WHOLE HECK OF A LOT MORE ABOUT
ALL THE MEMBERSHIP THAT'S BEHIND
THIS EFFORT. BUT, THEY'VE BEEN
THAT'S ANOTHER ONE THAT YOU CAN
BE ASSURED OF ANY TIME THE SOQ
IS ACTIVATED, THAT GROUP IS
GOING TO STAND UP, BECAUSE WE'VE
LEARNED IN DISASTERS THAT THERE
WILL ALWAYS BE, THAT PORTION OF
OUR POPULATION THAT IS JUST
DOUBLY OR, YOU KNOW,
EXPONENTIALLY IMPACTED BY THE
DISASTER. SO WE TRY TO GET OUT
IN FRONT OF IT. SO, SORRY, CAN I
ASK ONE MORE FOLLOW UP
CLARIFICATION? SO I'M JUST
CURIOUS. SO IN THE PRIORITY,
POPULATIONS IT COULD BE AGE, AGE
ETHNICITY AND GEOGRAPHY TOO. IS
THAT WHAT I'M HEARING? THAT IT'S
ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS TO BE THE
PRIORITY FOR THAT PARTICULAR
DISASTER. EXACTLY. OKAY. THANK
YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. I JUST HAD
A FEW QUESTIONS, ONE OF THEM,
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE POWER
SAFETY SHUT OFFS AND WHAT THAT'S
GOING TO DO TO OUR COMMUNITY. SO
HOW DO WE PUT THE MESSAGE ACROSS
TO OUR COMMUNITIES WHEN POWER
SHUT OFF? IF WE DON'T HAVE ANY
WAY TO COMMUNICATE, SO TO SPEAK,
WHAT'S THE PROCESS TO
COMMUNICATE WITH THOSE
COMMUNITIES IF THERE'S ANY
POWER? RIGHT. I'M JUST CURIOUS
HOW THAT WOULD WORK. ANY, ANY
FOR ANYONE FROM A LOCAL
PERSPECTIVE, WE TRY AND USE THE
ALERT AND WARNING SYSTEM WHEN WE
KNOW SOMETHING'S GOING TO HAPPEN
. OUR OUR GOAL IS TO GET
ADVANCED NOTIFICATION AND LET
OUR COMMUNITIES KNOW WITH AS
MUCH ADVANCED WARNING AS
POSSIBLE. ONCE THOSE SYSTEMS ARE
ARE OUT, IF THERE'S NO BACKUP
POWER AVAILABLE TO CELLULAR
TOWERS OR OTHER RESOURCES, ONE
OF THE OTHER WAYS OF GETTING IN
TOUCH WITH FOLKS IS JUST TO MAKE
ANNOUNCEMENTS VIA RADIO AND
BROADCAST TV, AND HOPE THAT
THEY'RE LISTENING. WE HOPE THAT,
THE MESSAGE SYSTEMS THAT GET
ACROSS ON CELLULAR DEVICES ARE
ENOUGH TO AT LEAST FOR THOSE
THAT RECEIVE IT, SHARE THE
INFORMATION WITH OTHERS THAT,
MEAN SOMETHING TO THEM IN THEIR
LIVES. AND THEY CAN THEY CAN
SHARE THAT INFORMATION. BUT IT
IS A HUGE CHALLENGE, TO
ANTICIPATE THINGS HAPPENING AND
TO NOT BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE
WITH THE PUBLIC AND LET THEM
KNOW. AND IT'S NOT JUST LETTING
THEM KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON. IT'S
LETTING THEM KNOW WHAT'S GOING
ON SO THAT THEY CAN MAKE
DECISIONS FOR THEMSELVES AND FOR
THEIR FAMILIES. AND IT REALLY IS
AN OPPORTUNITY TO EMPOWER THEM
DURING A DISASTER TO NOT LET
THEM FEEL VICTIMIZED BECAUSE
THEY DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION
. SO IT'S PERSONALLY IMPORTANT
TO ME, AND THAT'S WHY I, I STUDY
THE ACTUAL RESEARCH, AND I HANG
OUT WITH THE PEOPLE WHO ARE
STUDYING THIS, BECAUSE IT'S
PERSONALLY IMPORTANT TO ME THAT
WE ARE DOING THIS. WELL, IF WE
ONLY GET ONE CHANCE TO SEND A
MESSAGE, WHAT SHOULD THAT
MESSAGE BE? IF THAT'S THE ONLY
ONE THAT WE RECEIVE? IMAGINE IF
YOU KNEW THAT SOMETHING
CATASTROPHIC WAS ABOUT TO
HAPPEN, AND YOU WERE GOING TO
CALL YOUR LOVED ONE AND YOU WERE
GOING TO LET THEM KNOW. AND THAT
MIGHT BE THE LAST MESSAGE THAT
THEY HEAR FROM YOU. WHAT WOULD
YOU WANT THAT MESSAGE TO BE?
THAT SAME KIND OF WEIGHT IS ON
EMERGENCY MANAGERS TO
COMMUNICATE TO THE PUBLIC AND
LET THEM KNOW WHAT TO
ANTICIPATE, THE STEPS THAT THEY
COULD TAKE TO BE PERSONALLY
PREPARED IN WAYS THAT THEY CAN
SEEK HELP. IF THEY NEED IT. SO
THOSE KINDS OF THINGS ARE
CHALLENGING FOR US AND OUTSIDE
OF, PROVIDING REDUNDANT BACKUP
POWER SUPPLIES TO THAT
INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENSURING THAT
ALTERNATIVES SUCH AS BROADCAST
RADIO AND TV ARE AVAILABLE, I
ACTUALLY DON'T KNOW THE BEST
WAYS TO COMMUNICATE OUTSIDE OF
WHAT WE USED TO DO IN, YOU KNOW,
THE 40S AND 50S, WHICH IS RADIO
AND PA ANNOUNCEMENTS OUT OF THE
CAR, AND WE TALK ABOUT UTILIZING
OUR VOLUNTEER NETWORKS, I WILL
GIVE A PLUG FOR HAM RADIO
VOLUNTEERS. WE UTILIZE THOSE AS
EMERGENCY MANAGERS, AND WE RELY
ON THEM TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL
COMMUNICATION TO, TO OUR
RESIDENTS IN THE COMMUNITY. SO
WE DO ACTIVELY PRACTICE WITH OUR
HAM RADIO VOLUNTEERS. THEY JUST
DON'T GET THE CREDIT THAT I
THINK WE SHOULD GIVE TO THEM,
GOOD TO KNOW. AND IF I MAY ADD,
YOU ASKED SPECIFICALLY ABOUT
PSPS EVENTS, AND THAT IS THE
RESPONSIBILITY OF THE UTILITIES
TO COMMUNICATE WITH EACH AND
EVERY ONE OF THEIR CUSTOMERS,
AND YOU'LL HEAR PROBABLY IN THE
NEXT PANEL HOW THEY DO THAT, AND
WHAT MY COLLEAGUE HERE FROM
SACRAMENTO IS SHARING IS THE
INTENSE, NEED FOR EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT TO AMPLIFY, AND, AND
ACTUALLY, IT'S A LOCAL
RESPONSIBILITY, RIGHT, THAT THEY
TAKE VERY SERIOUSLY TO AMPLIFY
THAT MESSAGE BECAUSE WE DON'T
KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE AN ASSURANCE
DURING AN EVENT THAT EVERY
SINGLE CUSTOMER IS GETTING THE
MESSAGE. AND SO ONE THING CAL
OES DOES TO KIND OF SUPPORT OUR
LOCAL PARTNERS IS AS SOON AS WE
GET WIND OF AGAIN, PUN INTENDED,
OF A PSPS EVENT COMING, THEN
WE'LL CONVENE Þ CALLS,
OPERATIONAL AREA CALLS AND
PROVIDE ALL THE INFORMATION THAT
WE'RE GETTING FROM THE UTILITIES
WITH THEM SO THAT THEY CAN MAKE
THE MOST INFORMED DECISIONS
REGARDING, AMPLIFYING,
AMPLIFYING THOSE MESSAGES. SO
THAT'S ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE
BEHIND THE SCENE THINGS. OKAY,
CHIEF, YOU HAD A YEAH. I WAS
GOING TO SAY I THINK, JESSICA
PHÐ, WHO'S OUR EMERGENCY
MANAGER, DOES A REALLY EXCELLENT
JOB AT PRE-PLANNING THESE. SO
OUR CORE PROGRAMS, OUR CERT
PROGRAMS, IF WE REALLY WANT TO
HAVE A COMMUNITY BASED FIRE
SERVICE AND A FIRE SAFE CITY, WE
HAVE TO TRAIN OUR CITIZENS IN
ADVANCE. SO WHETHER THEY HEAR
THE MESSAGE OR NOT, THEY CAN
SPRING INTO ACTION AND START
HELPING THEIR THEIR COMMUNITY
AND THEIR NEIGHBORS IN THE EVENT
OF ONE OF THESE NATURAL
DISASTERS. AND THEY HAVE THE
TOOLS THAT THEY CAN USE, TO HELP
THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE. OKAY,
I GET IT. YOU KNOW, YOU KIND OF
GOING BACK, OBVIOUSLY, I VISIT
WITH YOU A WHILE BACK AND YOU
TALKED ABOUT THE DIFFERENT
FAULTS THERE IN OAKLAND. SO IT'S
A VERY UNIQUE PLACE. I KNOW MY
COLLEAGUE TALKED ABOUT THE
DIFFERENT AREAS WE REPRESENT. SO
I LOOK AT OAKLAND AND HOW YOU
TALKED ABOUT IT EARLIER WITH THE
DIFFERENT FAULT LINES. THERE
THEN THE ISSUES WITH OAKLAND
HILLS, REGARDING THOSE ISSUES.
SO WHAT'S THE POPULATION OF THE
OAKLAND HILLS AREA? BECAUSE
THAT'S A PRETTY WELL DEVELOPED
AREA, RIGHT? I WOULD THINK. I
DON'T KNOW, JUST ROUGHLY I'M
JUST FIGURING, WORST CASE
SCENARIO, SOMETHING HAPPENS. I
MEAN, THE POPULATION THERE WOULD
BE PRETTY HUGE. I WOULD THINK IT
IS. IT'S DENSELY POPULATED AND
THE INGRESS AND EGRESS IS A
MAJOR ISSUE FOR US BECAUSE WHEN
WE HAD THE LAST HUGE FIRE,
EVERYONE'S TRYING TO GET OUT
WHILE WE'RE TRYING TO GET IN. SO
WE'VE WORKED DILIGENTLY
POPULATION WISE. WE HAVE TO BE
AT LEAST OVER 50,000 IN THE
HILLS, WE'VE WORKED DILIGENTLY
ON ACCESS ROUTES FOR FUNNELING
PEOPLE OUT A CERTAIN WAY WHILE
RESOURCES ARE COMING IN A
CERTAIN WAY. SHUTTING DOWN
FREEWAY ON RAMPS AND OFF RAMPS
TO GET PEOPLE OUT OF THE AREA,
THAT'S STILL GOING TO BE VERY
COORDINATED. ONE OF THE THINGS
WE'VE LEARNED IS THAT WE ALSO
HAVE TO PREPARE FOR TSUNAMI
ALERTS AS WELL, BECAUSE IN A
MAJOR EARTHQUAKE, THAT COULD
ALSO BECOME AN ISSUE. BUT
THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT
ASPECTS OF EMERGENCY. HILL WISE,
THAT WE DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE
TO ADJUST TO IN THE FLATLANDS,
THAT WE DO HAVE TO IN THE HILLS.
OKAY. WELL THANK YOU VERY MUCH
FOR YOUR PRESENTATIONS. I'M I'M
ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW,
CALIFORNIA, WE'RE A DISASTER
PRONE STATE. I'M SORRY THINGS
ARE GOING TO HAPPEN HERE, RIGHT?
WE ALWAYS LEARN FROM WHETHER
IT'S THE FIRES, THE FLOODS. AND
I LOOK BACK, WE TALK ABOUT
EARTHQUAKES. WE HAVEN'T BEEN
TESTED IN EARTHQUAKE IN DECADES.
RIGHT. AND WHAT THAT'S GOING TO
DO TO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE,
DEPENDING OF IT'S UP HERE OR
DOWN SOUTH, HOW DO WE PREPARE
AND LOOK AT CALIFORNIA'S BEING
THE LEADER IN PREPAREDNESS
RESPONSE? I KNOW WE'VE COME A
LONG WAY. WE'RE DOING REALLY
GOOD. BUT I DON'T THINK WE'RE
HAVING A MAJOR FIRE SOMEWHERE.
AND THEN THAT MAJOR EARTHQUAKE,
WHAT'S GOING TO DO OUR RESOURCES
RIGHT? HOW ARE WE GOING TO
PREPARE FOR THAT? I THINK NOW
MORE THAN EVER, WHEN YOU START
LOOKING AT THAT AND HOW WE CAN
HELP, RIGHT? I KNOW IT'S YOU
GUYS ARE THE BOOTS ON THE
GROUND, SO TO SPEAK. BUT THEN
WHAT WE CAN DO AT THE
LEGISLATURE TO MAKE SURE YOU
HAVE FUNDS AND WHATEVER NEEDED
TO, TO PREPARE YOURSELVES, IT'S
GOING TO TAKE TIME. IT'S NOT
GOING TO HAPPEN OVERNIGHT. BUT
IF WE START GOING THAT WAY TO BE
A LEADER, WE LIKE TO BE THE
LEADER IN A LOT OF OTHER THINGS
IN CALIFORNIA. RIGHT. LET'S BE
THE LEADER. IN RESPONSE
PREPAREDNESS TO TAKE CARE OF OUR
COMMUNITIES. SO ONCE AGAIN, I
WANT TO THANK THE FIRST
PANELIST. SENATOR, DO YOU HAVE
ANY QUESTIONS? THEN WE'LL MOVE
ON TO OUR SECOND PANEL. THANK
YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. I
APPRECIATE IT. ALL RIGHT. ON OUR
SECOND PANEL, FIRST, WE'LL HEAR
FROM ANGIE GIBSON, VICE
PRESIDENT OF EMERGENCY
PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE AT
PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC. ANGIE,
WHEN YOU'RE READY. THANK YOU
VERY MUCH. CHAIRMAN RODRIGUEZ,
VICE CHAIR, LIMÓN AND OTHER
STAFF MEMBERS. MY NAME IS ANGIE
GIBSON. I AM THE VICE PRESIDENT
OF EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND
RESPONSE FOR PACIFIC GAS AND
ELECTRIC, RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL OF
OUR RISK ASSESSMENT, HAZARD AND
HAZARD IDENTIFICATION FOR
SERVICE DISRUPTION, AS WELL AS
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALL OF OUR
PLANS AND PROCEDURES, TRAINING
AND EXERCISING, PARTNERING WITH
OUR PUBLIC AGENCIES AND OTHER
STAKEHOLDERS, AND SUPPORTING THE
DELIVERY OF RESTORATION OF
SERVICE TO OUR CUSTOMERS IN A
SAFE MANNER. WE'VE LEARNED A LOT
FROM OUR PUBLIC SAFETY POWER
SHUT OFF PROGRAM, AS YOU'VE
MENTIONED, CHAIR RODRIGUEZ, THAT
CALIFORNIA IS A VERY COMPLEX
STATE AND IT'S RECOGNIZED
NATIONALLY, NIMS, WHICH IS USED
AS THE NATIONAL FRAMEWORK, IS
SEMS, YOU KNOW, AND OFTENTIMES
CALIFORNIA IS THE INNOVATOR IN
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. AND AND
THAT'S ACCREDITED TO OUR
PARTNERS AT CAL OES. AND OUR
PARTNERS IN FEMA REGION NINE,
AND OUR COUNTIES, TRIBAL
GOVERNMENTS, AS WE LOOK AT
PREPARING TO SUPPORT,
RESTORATION OF SERVICE
DISRUPTION, WE HAVE TO START
WITH HAZARD ASSESSMENT AND
HAZARD AWARENESS, WE HAVE TO
UNDERSTAND THE THREAT LANDSCAPE.
SO PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC, WE
PERFORM, JUST THIS YEAR
PERFORMED OUR FIRST THREAT AND
HAZARD IDENTIFICATION AND RISK
ASSESSMENT, ONE OF OUR TENANTS
THAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON IS REALLY
LEVERAGING THE PUBLIC CONSTRUCTS
THAT OUR PUBLIC PARTNERS USE AS
THEY PREPARE FOR AND RESPOND TO
EMERGENCIES, TO ALLOW US TO HAVE
A FOUNDATIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, ITS CORE
PRINCIPLES, AND THEN DEVELOP A
BETTER COORDINATED AND
COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO HOW WE
RESPOND. THE THYRA IS JUST ONE
OF THOSE PUBLIC CONSTRUCTS IN IN
PREPARING TO, DEVELOP OUR THYRA,
WE REVIEWED THE THYRA OF OUR 47
COUNTIES WITHIN OUR SERVICE
TERRITORY. FEMA REGION NINE AND
CAL OES TO GET AN UNDERSTANDING
OF THE PERSPECTIVE FOR WHICH
THESE AGENCIES REVIEW THREATS
AND HAZARDS ACROSS THE THREAT
LANDSCAPE. THROUGH THIS EFFORT,
WE INTEND THIS YEAR TO VISIT ALL
47 COUNTIES, CAL OES, AND FEMA
REGION NINE AND SHARE OUR THYRA
SO WE CAN START FOCUSING ON
INTEGRATED PLANNING AS A
RESPONDER AND AS A UTILITY
OPERATOR IN THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA, WE ARE RESPONSIBLE
FOR ENSURING WE CAN MITIGATE THE
RISK OF SERVICE DISRUPTION. WE
KNOW WE HAVE TO DO THAT IN A
COORDINATED MANNER WITH WITH OUR
PUBLIC PARTNERS AND KEY
STAKEHOLDERS, IS THE ONLY WAY TO
DO THAT IS TO HAVE A
CONVERSATION. AND IT MAY NOT BE
PERFECT FOR US TO HAVE ONE PLAN
AS A STATE, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY
HAVE RESPECTIVE PLANS THAT ARE
COORDINATED AND INTEGRATED SO
THAT WE CAN RESPOND TOGETHER
TOWARDS WHOLE COMMUNITY
RECOVERY, WHICH IS THE INTENT OF
THE NATIONAL RESPONSE FRAMEWORK.
THESE FRAMEWORKS ALSO HELP US
ALIGN WITH OUR PUBLIC PARTNERS,
IN PARTICULAR, THE FOUNDATIONAL
CONSTRUCTS THAT PGE LEVERAGES IN
WHOLE. WE DON'T CHANGE THESE. WE
DON'T PRIVATIZE THEM. WE USE
THEM AS THEY'RE BUILT FOR OUR
PUBLIC AGENCY PARTNERS WITH THE
UNDERSTANDING THAT THEY ARE THE
FOUNDATION FOR HOW WE WILL
RESPOND TOGETHER, WE USE THE
FEMA TRADITIONAL PLAN MODEL,
WHICH IS A BASE PLAN AND HAZARD
AND FUNCTIONAL ANNEXES.
CURRENTLY, WE HAVE 19 HAZARD AND
FUNCTIONAL ANNEXES TO OUR BASE
PLAN. SOME OF THOSE HAZARD
ANNEXES THAT WE HAVE ARE THE OUR
PUBLIC SAFETY POWER SHUT OFF
ANNEX, WILDFIRE ANNEX,
EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI ANNEXES,
EXTREME WEATHER ANNEX. WE HAVE
AN ACCESS AND FUNCTIONAL NEEDS
ANNEX. WE BELIEVE IN TAKING CARE
OF OUR ACCESS AND FUNCTIONAL
NEEDS. COMMUNITY WE USE THE
HOMELAND SECURITY EXERCISE AND
EVALUATION PROGRAM TO PLAN AND
EXECUTE OUR EXERCISES. NEXT
WEEK, WE'LL BE HAVING OUR ANNUAL
FIVE DAY FULL SCALE PUBLIC
SAFETY POWER SHUT OFF EXERCISE.
IN CONJUNCTION WITH THAT, PUBLIC
SAFETY POWER SHUT OFF EXERCISE,
WE WILL CONCURRENTLY BE
EXERCISING OUR WILDFIRE ANNEX.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE
DONE GIVEN THE VOLUME OF HAZARDS
WITHIN OUR SERVICE TERRITORY,
WHERE WE WILL PARTNER ANNEX
EXERCISES TOGETHER AS CONCURRENT
HAZARDS. BECAUSE, AS WE'VE
LEARNED IN 2020, HAZARDS DON'T
HAPPEN INDIVIDUALLY. IN 2020,
PGA RESPONDED. AND WITHIN A TWO
WEEK PERIOD, AT THE SAME TIME
DURING COVID TO A CAPACITY
SHORTAGE EVENT, A LIGHTNING
EVENT, A HEAT EVENT AND A PUBLIC
SAFETY POWER SHUT OFF EVENT THAT
HAPPENED SIMULTANEOUSLY AND WE
WERE ABLE, THROUGH OUR PLANS AND
PREPAREDNESS, TO RESPOND
EFFECTIVELY WITH THE ENGAGEMENT
AND SUPPORT OF OUR COUNTY,
TRIBAL, FEDERAL AND STATE
PARTNERS. WE LEVERAGE THE SEMS,
ICS FRAMEWORKS AND WE LEVERAGE
THEM. AS I'VE INDICATED. HOLY,
WE'VE PARTNERED WITH CAL OES AND
THE CALIFORNIA SPECIALIZED
TRAINING INSTITUTE, LEVERAGING
FEMA TRAINING AND STI TRAINING
TO ENSURE THAT OUR FOLKS ARE
READY TO RESPOND AND UNDERSTAND
THE ELEMENTS OF EACH OF THEIR
ROLES WITHIN THE ICS FRAMEWORK.
WE FOCUS ON CONTINUOUS
IMPROVEMENT. ONE OF THE ELEMENTS
THAT WE EXECUTE POST AN EVENT OR
POST EXERCISE IS TO CONDUCT A
HOT WASH AND UNDERSTAND WHERE
WE'RE OUR GAPS, WHERE WE'RE OUR
STRENGTHS, AND THEN HOW DO WE
RESOLVE THOSE GAPS IN COMPLIANCE
WITH THE GENERAL ORDER. 166 WITH
CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES
COMMISSION, WE ALSO EVALUATE
AFTER ACTIONS FROM OTHER
INDUSTRIES AND OTHER UTILITY
MEMBERS ACROSS THE NATION TO
UNDERSTAND IF THOSE HAZARDS OR
THOSE CHALLENGES IN RESPONSE OR
STRENGTHS ALSO EXIST WITHIN OUR
OUR STATE AND WHETHER OR NOT WE
SHOULD BE IMPROVE ING OR
INCORPORATING DIFFERENT METHODS
TO HOW WE RESPOND AND PREPARE.
WHEN WE LOOK AT HAZARD AWARENESS
FROM A SITUATION AWARENESS
PERSPECTIVE, WE'RE BLESSED AT PG
AND E TO HAVE OUR HAZARD
AWARENESS WARNING CENTER, WHICH
IS A 24 OVER SEVEN 365 WARNING
CENTER WITH ANALYSTS THAT ARE
MONITORING RADIO TRAFFIC AND
MONITORING ALL SORTS OF SOCIAL
FEEDS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S
HAPPENING ACROSS THE STATE. THIS
THE HAZARD AWARENESS WARNING
CENTER WAS INITIALLY FORMED POST
CAMP AND POST OCTOBER 17TH FIRES
AS THE WILDFIRE SAFETY
OPERATIONS CENTER, AND IT WAS
INTENDED TO JUST FOCUS ON
WILDFIRE IGNITIONS. NOW NOW,
THROUGH THE ADVANCEMENT OF ALL
HAZARDS PLANNING, THEY ARE NOW
AN ALL HAZARDS AWARENESS CENTER.
SO MONITORING FOR TSUNAMI RISK,
EARTHQUAKES, SOLAR STORMS,
FLOODING, AVALANCHES, DEBRIS
FLOW. AND THEY'RE PUSHING SOME
OF THOSE PUBLIC MESSAGES OUT TO
OUR COUNTY PARTNERS TO HELP
ENSURE THAT IF WE KNOW SOMETHING
, THEY KNOW SOMETHING. IN
ADDITION, WE HAVE ONE OF THE
BEST METEOROLOGY TEAMS IN THE
NATION SUPPORTING HOW WE PREPARE
FOR EMERGENCIES. THROUGH THE MET
TEAM, THEY'VE DEVELOPED THE
STORM OUTAGE PREDICTION PROJECT,
WHICH ALLOWS US TO HAVE A TEN
DAY VIEW OF THE WEATHER INCOMING
TO THE STATE AND UNDERSTANDING
HOW IT WILL IMPACT OUR CUSTOMERS
AND OUR DIVISIONS. IT GIVES US
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE RISK OF THE
WEATHER, AS WELL AS
UNDERSTANDING A POTENTIAL
FORECAST FOR HOW MANY OUTAGES
MAY OCCUR, HOW MANY CUSTOMERS
CUSTOMERS WILL BE IMPACTED, HOW
MANY TROUBLESHOOTERS WILL NEED,
AND HOW MANY CREWS WILL NEED
THIS FORWARD VIEW ALLOWS US TO
STEP INTO AN INTEGRATED SERIES
OF CALLS WITHIN THE COMPANY, AS
WELL AS WITH OUR COUNTIES AND
STATE AGENCIES, TO UNDERSTAND
HOW WE NEED TO RESPOND TO THIS
TYPE OF HAZARD, WE WILL
PROACTIVELY REACH OUT THROUGH
OUR MUTUAL ASSISTANCE AGREEMENTS
FOR ADDITIONAL CONTRACTORS AND
MUTUAL ASSISTANCE AHEAD OF THE
STORM, ENSURING THAT WE HAVE
RESOURCES IN PLACE IN THE AREAS
THAT ARE FORECASTED FOR THE
HIGHER HIGHEST RISK BEFORE THE
OUTAGES OCCUR. AND WE SAW THIS
DEMONSTRATED DURING THE FEBRUARY
4TH STORM, WHERE WE HAD OVER
700,000 CUSTOMERS IMPACTED
SIMULTANEOUSLY. BASED ON THE
SIGNIFICANT AND COMPLEXITY OF
THE WEATHER. AND WE WERE ABLE TO
RESTORE 1.2 MILLION CUSTOMERS
WITHIN 24 HOURS. AND THAT WAS
BECAUSE WE EXECUTED THAT PLAN
AND HAD RESOURCES IN PLACE WHERE
WE NEEDED THEM. OUR PUBLIC
PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS ARE A HUGE
ELEMENT OF HOW WE RESPOND, AND I
THINK I'VE SHARED THAT IN MY
TESTIMONY TO THIS POINT. WE
CONDUCT FIELD DRILLS JOINTLY
WITH OUR FIRST RESPONDER
COMMUNITY ON HOW TO RESPOND TO A
GAS EMERGENCY. WE DID 33 OF
THOSE DRILLS LAST YEAR AND WILL
DO 20 OF THOSE DRILLS THIS YEAR.
WE SUPPORT JOINT EXERCISE
PLANNING AND EXERCISE PLAY WITH
OUR PUBLIC PARTNERS. LAST YEAR'S
PUBLIC SAFETY POWER SHUT OFF
EXERCISE ALSO INCLUDED 211,
WHICH IS OUR STATE PHONE NUMBER
FOR ACCESS AND FUNCTIONAL NEEDS
SUPPORT DURING A DISASTER FOR
IT. IT ALSO INVOLVED CAL OES,
DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES,
AS WELL AS MANY OTHER
STAKEHOLDERS THAT ALL
PARTICIPATED IN THIS VERY LARGE
EXERCISE. THIS YEAR'S EXERCISE,
AS I INDICATED, IS NEXT WEEK,
AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT
THAT BECAUSE WE ALWAYS LEARN
SOMETHING FROM THESE. ONGOING
ENGAGEMENT WITH OUR PUBLIC
PARTNERS IS REALLY IMPORTANT, WE
HAVE VERY STRONG ALLIANCES,
REYES AND SUPPORT WITH THROUGH
CAL OES. IN FACT, I WILL HAVE A
CALL GENERALLY WITH CAL OES
STAFF BEFORE, AN INCIDENT IS
WHEN WE'RE PREPARING FOR AN
INCIDENT, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT
FEBRUARY 4TH STORM WE WERE
HAVING BACK AND FORTH
CONVERSATIONS FOR SEVERAL DAYS
BEFORE THE STORM HIT, AND I WAS
SHARING WITH THEM HOW WE'RE
PREPARING, WHERE WE'RE MOVING
RESOURCES. IF THERE'S ANYTHING
I'M WORRIED ABOUT, ANYTHING
THEY'RE WORRIED ABOUT BECAUSE
IT'S IT TAKES BOTH OF US. IT
TAKES ALL OF US TO RESPOND. WE
PROVIDE EOC SUPPORT FROM PGA
STAFF TO THE ACTIVATED COUNTY
EOC WITHIN THE STATE, AS WELL AS
WE KEEP SOMEBODY STAFFED AT THE
SOC WHILE THE SOC IS ACTIVATED
DURING ONE OF OUR LOW SNOW
EVENTS IN 2022, WE DEVELOPED IN
COLLABORATION WITH CAL OES, THE
IDEA OF WHAT WE CALL THE DOWNED
TREE TASK FORCE, NEVADA COUNTY.
WE EXPECTED TO GET HIT VERY HARD
FROM THE SNOW, AND IN THE
PREVIOUS YEAR WE REALLY HAD A
HARD TIME GETTING ACCESS TO THE
WORK LOCATIONS TO BE ABLE TO
MORE EFFECTIVELY RESTORE
SERVICE. SO THIS IS PART OF THAT
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
DISCUSSION. WE PARTNERED WITH
CAL OES AND THE COUNTY AND
NEVADA COUNTY, AND THROUGH THIS
TASK FORCE, WE PARTNERED UP PGA
TROUBLESHOOTERS, PGA CREWS AND
VEGETATION CREWS, ALONG WITH
PUBLIC WORKS, WHICH ALLOWED US
JOINTLY TO FOCUS ON RESTORING
INGRESS AND EGRESS TO THE AREAS
WHERE OUR MAIN LINE DISTRIBUTION
LINES WERE LOCATED SO WE COULD
RESTORE THOSE THAT SERVICE
FIRST. THE ADVANTAGE TO THE
COMMUNITY OF RESTORING THAT
SERVICE WAS THAT IT ALSO
ENERGIZED THE COMMUNITY CENTERS,
AND WHICH INCLUDED GROCERY
STORES AND GAS STATIONS, WHICH
THEN ALLOWED CUSTOMERS TO
SHELTER IN PLACE. IT ALSO GAVE
THEM A SAFE INGRESS AND EGRESS
TO THAT, THAT SUPPORT THAT THEY
WOULD NEED. THEN WE PARTNERED ON
ON HOW WE ADDRESS THE OTHER
ACCESS NEEDS, AND PGA PUTS THE
ENTIRE WEIGHT OF THE COMPANY
BEHIND THAT, PROVIDING ACCESS TO
SNOWCATS AND OTHER EQUIPMENT TO
THE COUNTY. WE'VE TALKED A
LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR SEISMIC
RISK, WHICH IS ONE OF OUR ONE OF
OUR TOP FIVE RISKS WITHIN THE
COMPANY, WE'RE VERY LUCKY TO
HAVE AT PGA A VERY STRONG
GEOSCIENCE TEAM OF 21
GEOLOGISTS, GEOTECHNICAL
ENGINEERS AND SEISMOLOGISTS TO
HELP US PREPARE FOR AND RESPOND
TO SEISMIC RISK, WE HAVE A VERY
ROBUST PLANNING AND PREPAREDNESS
PROCESS. PGA HAS BEEN A LONG
TIME SUPPORTER OF EARTHQUAKE
EARLY WARNING, WHICH IS AN
INCREDIBLE STATE PROGRAM, WE ARE
MEMBERS OF THE EARTHQUAKE EARLY
WARNING COMMITTEE AS WELL AS WE
WERE THE A UTILITY PILOT, MEMBER
OF SHAKEALERT. WE'VE ALSO, WE'VE
ALSO BEEN SUPPORTING EARTHQUAKE
EARLY WARNING IN THE
INSTALLATION OF ELEVATOR AND
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT AUTOMATION
THAT WILL BE TRIGGERED BY, THE
EARTHQUAKE EARLY WARNING
NOTIFICATION. AND SO IT'LL STOP
AN ELEVATOR AT THE NEXT LEVEL
WHEN THE NOTIFICATION IS
RECEIVED. AND WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS
THAT THE NOTIFICATION WILL GIVE
US, YOU KNOW, ANYWHERE FROM FIVE
TO 10S. NOTICE BEFORE WE START
FEELING THE EARTHQUAKE ITSELF,
OBVIOUSLY, DEPENDING HOW CLOSE
TO THE EPICENTER YOU ARE, IN
ADDITION, WE ARE ALSO PARTNERING
WITH LAWRENCE LIVERMORE LABS TO
COLLABORATE ON DRIFT SENSORS,
WHICH WE HAVE INSTALLED AT OUR
OAKLAND GENERAL OFFICE, WE'RE
THE ONLY COMMERCIAL BUILDING IN
THE UNITED STATES TO HAVE DRIFT
SENSORS, THE SECOND OTHER
BUILDING IS THAT AT UC BERKELEY.
AND THROUGH THE DRIFT SENSORS,
THE INTENTION IS TO BE ABLE TO
MONITOR THE PERFORMANCE OF
BUILDING STRUCTURE DURING
SEISMIC ACTIVITY, WHICH WILL
HELP STRENGTHEN OUR BUILDING
PROTOCOLS AND BUILDING
GUIDELINES, THIS IS ONE OF MANY
INNOVATIVE RESEARCH EFFORTS THAT
PGA PARTNERS AND IN SOME FUNDS
TO HELP SUPPORT SEISMIC RISK
MITIGATION FOR OUR THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA AND FOR OUR CUSTOMERS
AND COMMUNITIES. WE HAVE, THERE
IS A NEW GROUP THAT IS FORMED
OUT OF UNIVERSITY OF OREGON IN
THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST CALLED
CRESCENT, WHICH IS A RESEARCH
AND ACADEMIC GROUP THAT IS
LOOKING AT TECTONIC PLATE
MOVEMENT, FOCUSING ON THE
CASCADIA SUBDUCTION ZONE, WHICH
WILL INFLUENCE THE NORTHERN HALF
OF THE OF CALIFORNIA. WHEN THAT
FAULT LINE RUPTURES. AND I'M
VERY HAPPY TO SAY THAT PACIFIC
GAS AND ELECTRIC HAS AN ADVISORY
BOARD MEMBER FROM OUR GEOSCIENCE
TEAM ON THAT TEAM, BECAUSE IT'S
A VERY UNDERDISCUSSED SEISMIC
RISK TO THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.
WE DO ALSO OUR SEISMIC EXERCISE
SERIES, WE JUST COMPLETED THE
FIRST PHASE OF THAT LAST YEAR,
WHICH INCLUDED A FIRST RESPONDER
DRILL AT TREASURE ISLAND, WHICH
WITH OUR FIRE AGENCIES AND LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES WITHIN THE
BAY, IT INCLUDED AN EXERCISE
WITH THE MARITIME ADMINISTRATION
AND THE ROLL ON ROLL OFF FLEET,
IT INCLUDED A FULL CAMPUS
EVACUATION OF OUR OAKLAND
GENERAL OFFICE, AS WELL AS US,
AS WELL AS IT WAS A TWO DAY
EXERCISE, WHICH WE LIKE THE
MULTI-DAY EXERCISES AT PGA, IT
IT WAS VERY COMPLEX. AND WE WILL
CONTINUE TO BUILD FROM THAT. AND
WE WILL START THAT SERIES AGAIN
IN 2025, I'D LIKE TO ALSO SHARE
A UNIQUE ELEMENT OF OUR SEISMIC
PROGRAM, WHICH IS CALLED DASH,
OUR DYNAMIC AUTOMATED SEISMIC
HAZARD NOTIFICATION SYSTEM, DASH
IS UNIQUE IN THAT IT'S A
HOMEGROWN MODELING SYSTEM, WHICH
WHICH INTEGRATES OUR SEISMIC
RISK MODELS WITH A USGS MERCALLI
RISK PROFILE OF SEISMIC EVENTS.
AND IT ALLOWS US TO PUSH OUT
NOTIFICATIONS TO EACH OF THE
FUNCTIONAL AREAS WITHIN PGA THAT
IDENTIFIES THE ASSETS THAT THEY
HAVE, MEETING PEAK GROUND
ACCELERATION, OR PGA CRITERIA.
AND IT BASICALLY WILL HELP THEM
PRE STAGE OR PRE START THEIR
ASSESSMENTS. SO RATHER THAN
STARTING WITH AN ASSESSMENT OF
ALL ASSETS THE DASH NOTIFICATION
WILL COME OUT WITHIN 5 TO 10
MINUTES OF THE SEISMIC EVENT.
AND IT WILL TELL THEM EXACTLY
WHICH ASSETS RECEIVED THE
HIGHEST LEVEL OF PGA. SO WE KNOW
WHERE TO START OUR ASSESSMENTS.
AND THIS WAS REALLY INSTRUMENTAL
ALONG WITH SHAKEALERT DURING OUR
HUMBOLDT EARTHQUAKE THAT WE HAD
IN 2022 WHEN, I WAS WOKEN UP AT
230 IN THE MORNING IN MY HOTEL
ROOM BY A MAN TALKING TO ME, AND
THE MAN SAID, EARTHQUAKE,
EARTHQUAKE, DROP, COVER AND
HOLD. SHAKING. EXPECTED WHICH
WAS MY SHAKE ALERT NOTIFICATION
AND ACROSS THE BANNER IT SAID
6.4 MAGNITUDE UP IN FERNDALE, I
WAS IMMEDIATELY ABLE TO CALL OUR
GRID CORE OUR GRID CONTROL
CENTER AND ASKED THEM IF WE HAD
RELAY TRANSMISSION RELAY
ACTIVITY IN THAT AREA. THEY
CONFIRMED, SO WE IMMEDIATELY
STARTED OUR MOBILIZING RESOURCES
TO ASSESS. I WAS ABLE TO MAKE
THOSE SAME PHONE CALLS TO OUR
DISTRIBUTION CONTROL CENTER AND
GAS CONTROL. WE ACTIVATED THE
EOC ALL WITHIN 15 MINUTES OF THE
NOTIFICATION OF THE EARTHQUAKE.
AND I'M REALLY PROUD TO SAY
THAT'S THE SAME PERFORMANCE WE
EXPECT TO EXECUTE REGARDLESS OF
WHAT FAULT LINE THE EARTHQUAKE
IS ON. SOME OF THE ENHANCEMENTS
WILL BE MOVING INTO THE DASH
SYSTEM. IS LEVERAGING AI AS WE
HAVE DONE WITH THE WILDFIRE
CAMERAS, WE ALSO HAVE NEW METERS
THAT ALL HAVE ACCELEROMETERS. SO
BASICALLY IT'S A MINI
SEISMOGRAPH AT EACH HOUSE. SO
WE'LL BE ABLE TO INCORPORATE
THOSE INTO THE NETWORK THAT WILL
HELP US DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE OUR
MODELING, PARTICULARLY IN AREAS
OF LIQUEFACTION. AND WE ARE ALSO
GOING TO BE PARTNERING WITH OUR
MET TEAM TO MODEL FIRE
FOLLOWING, EARTHQUAKES. THIS IS
A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT
METEOROLOGICALLY WITHIN THE
URBAN AREAS, BUT IT WILL BE
INSTRUMENTAL IN THE POTENTIAL TO
HAVE A WILDFIRE EVENT THAT GETS
IGNITED FROM AN EARTHQUAKE. SO
WE'LL BE LOOKING TO INCORPORATE
THAT. OUR OUR GEOSCIENCE TEAM IS
ALSO PARTNERING WITH SEVERAL OF
THE ACADEMIA COMMUNITY TO HELP
BUILD A BETTER DEBRIS FLOW AND
SLOPE INSTABILITY MODEL. AND
THEN WITH RESPECT TO THE
COMMENTS ABOUT, FROM OUR PUBLIC
PARTNERS, ABOUT THE NEED FOR
GENERATION OR FOR, YOU KNOW,
DEDICATED SUPPLY, WE DO HAVE A
VERY ROBUST TEMPORARY GENERATION
SYSTEM FOR PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
GENERATION, PRIMARY GENERATION.
WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO MOBILIZE 50MW
UP TO CRESCENT CITY WHEN THEY
WERE OUT OF POWER LAST SUMMER TO
RESTORE 13,000 OF THEIR
CUSTOMERS, AND THEN FINALLY, I
IN IN CONVERSATION TO THE
QUESTIONS CHAIR THAT YOU ASKED,
PGE DOES INITIATE OUR PUBLIC
SAFETY POWER, SHUT OFF MESSAGING
TO OUR CUSTOMERS, WE HAVE A
WHOLE SERIES OF MESSAGES THAT GO
OUT. IT'S NOT JUST A SINGLE
MESSAGE. IT'S MULTIPLE MESSAGES,
INCLUDING DOOR KNOCKS THAT WE
PERFORM WHEN WE CAN'T GET, WHEN
WE CAN'T REACH AFN CUSTOMERS,
AND THEN THOSE MESSAGES GO OUT
IN 17 LANGUAGES, INCLUDING
INCLUDING AMERICAN SIGN
LANGUAGE. OKAY. AND THAT'S I
JUST THANK YOU FOR BEING ABLE TO
SHARE, WHAT WE'RE DOING TO
PREPARE TO HELP SUPPORT OUR
COMMUNITIES AND CUSTOMERS AND,
THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
IT'S QUITE A BIT. THANK YOU. SO
NEXT, WE'LL MOVE OVER TO TOM
PORTER, THE DIRECTOR OF
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FROM SAN
DIEGO GAS AND ELECTRIC. TOM,
GOOD SEEING YOU AGAIN. GOOD TO
SEE YOU AS WELL. CHAIR RODRIGUEZ
AND, VICE CHAIR LAMONE, MY LAST
TIME IN FRONT OF YOU WAS NOT IN
THIS UNIFORM. IT WAS IN A
DIFFERENT UNIFORM, AND, AND IT'S
BEEN A WHILE. I DO APPRECIATE
THE WORK THAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING,
IN MY TIME MOVING ON TO THE
UTILITY WORK, I ALSO WANTED TO,
RECOGNIZE GUYS THAT THE STAFFS
REPORT, THAT WAS PUT TOGETHER
FOR THIS VERY IN DEPTH AND WELL
DONE, THERE WERE VERY FEW THINGS
THAT I MIGHT HAVE CHANGED A WORD
HERE AND THERE, BUT IT REALLY
WAS COMPREHENSIVE AND I THINK
REALLY PAINTED A VERY TRUE
PICTURE OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING
AT. AND ALL OF THE PANELISTS
HAVE HAVE REFLECTED THAT. I
BELIEVE, I WANTED TO KIND OF
MAYBE STEP BACK JUST A LITTLE
MORE TO A BROAD SENSE OF, AS A
UTILITY EMERGENCY MANAGER. NOW
SOME REFLECTION, BOTH FROM PAST
AND TO PRESENT, THERE HAVE BEEN
A LOT OF CHANGES. AND YOU'VE
HEARD ALREADY, BOTH FROM OUR OUR
REGULATORS OUT MY WORDS, OUR
REGULATORS THAT YOU HEARD FROM
IN THE FIRST PANEL AND, AND,
SOME OF THE OTHER, PARTNERS AS
WELL AS FROM PG AND E, JUST
BEFORE AND A LOT OF THAT WAS
REFLECTIVE OF THE REGULATIONS
THAT HAVE BEEN PUT IN PLACE, IN
THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. AND
REALLY AROUND PSPS AND KIND OF
USING PSPS AS THAT SPRINGBOARD,
I WANTED TO DRILL INTO A COUPLE
OF THINGS THAT ARE MAYBE, BELOW
THE SURFACE, BUT VERY MUCH
IMPORTANT IN THE LONG TERME FOR
US TO GET. RIGHT, I THINK, OES
CAL OES, REPRESENTATIVE, AND
OTHERS HAVE, HAVE MENTIONED
THIS, BUT THE, THE COORDINATION
AND PARTNERSHIP THAT WE HAVE
BEFORE EVENTS, PARTICULARLY WHEN
THEY GET TO BE BIG EVENTS LIKE
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TODAY IS
CRITICAL AND IT'S CRITICAL
BECAUSE WE EACH HAVE OUR LIST OF
WHAT IS A CRITICAL RESOURCE OR A
VULNERABLE POPULATION BASED ON
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE
POPULATIONS THAT ARE IN OUR
JURISDICTIONS. AND I'LL JUST
GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF THIS, AND
IT'S AND IT'S IN YOUR NOTES. SO
IT'S NOT, CONTEMPLATED, BUT IT
IS STILL SOMETHING THAT WE NEED
TO DO AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE
DOING BETTER. AND THAT IS THINGS
LIKE WASTEWATER. IF WASTEWATER
PLANTS CAN'T GET ELECTRICITY,
THAT'S A PROBLEM. THAT IS A BIG
PROBLEM DOWNSTREAM, LITERALLY,
BUT IT IS A BIG PROBLEM, BUT
WHAT MIGHT NOT BE, THOUGHT OF BY
SOME IN THE ROOM IN THE
DISCUSSION IS THAT POWER
GENERATION MIGHT BE THAT THING
THAT'S NEEDED AHEAD OF THE
WASTEWATER, GETTING THEIR POWER.
SO WE NEED TO HAVE THOSE
CONVERSATIONS UP FRONT AND
IDENTIFY CLEARLY WHAT THE MOST,
IMPACTED AREAS ARE. AND THE WAY
WE WOULD GET THEM BACK ON LINE,
MOST EFFECTIVELY TO, TO PROTECT
THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE'RE ALL
HERE TO, SERVE AND PROTECT. SO
THAT'S THAT'S ONE EXAMPLE, THAT,
THAT LEAVES US WITH NEEDING TO
PARTNER IN WITH LOCAL
GOVERNMENT, TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS,
STATE AND FEDERAL RESOURCES AND
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, ALL
TOGETHER, DEVELOPING PLANS TO
ACCESS AREAS. SO WE HAVE THE BIG
ONE. WE CAN'T GET POWER AND GAS
BACK UP UNLESS WE CAN GET TO
THOSE PLACES TO EITHER MAKE SAFE
OR THEN RESTORE OR, AND REPAIR.
SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT,
THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO, TO
WORK ON, WE HAD JUST LAST, LAST
YEAR, THE SNOW STORMS IN THE
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MOUNTAINS,
PARTICULARLY, THE BIG BEAR
AREAS, LAKE ARROWHEAD, AREAS.
AND THAT WAS AN ALL HANDS ON
DECK, FROM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
PERSPECTIVE, SDG AND E, WE SENT
OUR SNOW CATS UP. WE HAVE SNOW
CATS AND THEY WERE NEEDED THERE,
SO WE SENT SNOW CATS, UP TO
ASSIST, CONVERSED. WE NEEDED
SOME. WE NEEDED TO GET PEOPLE TO
ONE OF OUR COMMUNICATIONS SITES
THAT HAPPENS TO BE UP IN KERN
COUNTY. AND WE FLEW IN A PG AND
E HELICOPTER, CONTRACTED
HELICOPTER TO DO THAT, NEEDED
SERVICE. SO WE ARE VERY MUCH
INTERDEPENDENT AND NEED TO
REMAIN SO, WE NEED TO CONTINUE
TO WORK UNDER, NIM SIMS ICS
STRUCTURE. WE'RE ALL WE'RE ALL
BY REGULATION PUT INTO THAT
SPACE. NOW, AND WE NEED TO
MAINTAIN THAT, AND, I REALLY
LOVED THAT, OUR OAS COLLEAGUE,
CALLED OUT CæA, THE CALIFORNIA
UTILITIES EMERGENCY ASSOCIATION.
WE'RE MEMBERS OF SUCH. AND,
WE'RE RIGHT RIGHT NOW IN THE
PROCESS OF, HIRING A NEW
DIRECTOR FOR THAT SPACE AND
REALLY BUILDING THAT OUT TO BE A
MORE, A POSITION THAT WILL BE AT
THE SOC AND MUCH MORE CAPABLE
AND WELL RESOURCED THAN HAS BEEN
IN THE PAST. SO THAT IS
SOMETHING THAT THE UTILITIES
TOGETHER ARE WORKING TO, TO MAKE
HAPPEN, I THINK WE CAN LOOK AT
PROGRAMS LIKE THE EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT ACCREDITATION
PROGRAM, IMAP AS A STANDARD.
THERE ARE ONLY THREE, IMAP
CERTIFIED EOCS OR OR SOC IN IN
THE STATE. ONLY THREE CAL OES
SAU HERE. RIVERSIDE COUNTY, SAN
DIEGO COUNTY, NÓ UTILITIES ARE,
WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF AT SAN
DIEGO GAS AND ELECTRIC OF, WE'VE
APPLIED AND WE'RE GOING THROUGH
THE PROCESS OF BECOMING
ACCREDITED. I KNOW THAT'S
SOMETHING THAT OTHER UTILITIES
ARE ALSO IN THE PROCESS OF
GETTING TO. IT WILL REALLY SHOW
US HOW, HOW AND WHERE THE GAPS
ARE IN OUR ABILITY TO, TO, WORK
TOGETHER AND WORK SEAMLESSLY
WITHIN THE SYSTEM THAT WE, ARE,
ARE GIVEN. AND I WANTED TO JUST
NOTE ONE LITTLE ONE LITTLE SIDE
NOTE STORY, 2017, WE HEARD ABOUT
, A FATEFUL TIME, SENATOR LIMÓN
MENTIONED THE THOMAS FIRE, THERE
WAS ONE NIGHT, THAT DURING THAT
INCIDENT THAT EARLY ON, WE HAD
THE RYE FIRE BURNING IN LA
COUNTY, WE HAD THE THOMAS
ALREADY BURNING, AND I WAS THE
REGION CHIEF. THIS WAS MY
JURISDICTION. AND I, LO AND
BEHOLD, HAD A 3 A.M. CNN
INTERVIEW ABOUT THE FIRES AND
WHAT WAS GOING ON. GOVERNOR
BROWN MENTIONED, THE DAY BEFORE
THAT, THAT IT WAS THE FIRST TIME
EVER THAT WE HAD SEEN 0%
RELATIVE HUMIDITY. ZERO. AND
DRY, DRY, DRY. IT WAS THE FIRST
PURPLE DAY THAT EVER SHOWED UP
ON THE SANTA ANA WILDFIRE THREAT
INDEX. AND I WAS DOING AN
INTERVIEW ABOUT THAT ABOUT TWO
HOURS BEFORE THAT IN MY HOTEL
ROOM. I WAS ON THE RYE FIRE
ABOUT TWO HOURS BEFORE THAT.
THIS IS 2017. MY PHONE STARTED
BLOWING UP MESSAGES SDG AND SDG
AND E, WHAT'S GOING ON? SDG AND
KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON. THE
WINDS WERE STARTING TO MOVE TO
THE SOUTH. THEY WERE HITTING
CRITERIA AND SDG AND E WAS DOING
PUBLIC SAFETY POWER SHUT OFF
BEFORE PUBLIC SAFETY. POWER SHUT
OFF WAS WAS NAMED AS SUCH. THE
REASON I BRING THIS UP IS, AS
THE REGION CHIEF STANDING ON A
BURNT OUT HOME, SMOLDERING, ASH
PIT BEHIND ME DOING AN INTERVIEW
, I WAS VISCERALLY, COMFORTED TO
KNOW THAT THERE WOULD NOT BE
FIRES STARTING FROM THE
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM IN SAN DIEGO.
AND LO AND BEHOLD, THERE WERE
NOT, ALSO, SINCE SDG AND E HAD
ITS, ITS, PROBLEM FIRE THE FIRE
THAT WE STARTED, I WAS ON THE
OTHER SIDE, BUT IN 2007 THAT
THAT WHICH WAS FIRE, THAT THAT
FIRE TURNED THINGS AROUND FOR
THE COMPANY, SET US ON A PATH TO
BE BETTER, TO NOT HAVE ANY MORE
LARGE, DAMAGING FIRES. AND WHILE
WE'VE HAD FIRES THAT HAVE BEEN
CAUSED BY ELECTRIC SYSTEM, WE
HAVE NOT HAD IN SDG AND E
SERVICE TERRITORY, ANOTHER LARGE
DAMAGING FIRE CAUSED BY ELECTRIC
SYSTEMS. SINCE THAT FIRE. AND
IT'S BEEN THE COMMITMENT, THE
COMMITMENT THAT ALL OF OUR
UTILITIES ARE NOW DEEPLY
COMMITTED TO. BUT SDG AND E FOR
THE LAST 15, 17 YEARS NOW HAS
NOT BEEN IN THAT SPACE BECAUSE
OF THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE.
AND I KNOW THAT I WILL EAT THE
WORDS THAT I SAID. AND THERE'S A
MEME EVERY ACRE CAN AND WILL
BURN SOMEDAY, AND IT WILL. WE
NEED TO BE PREPARED. BUT WE ALSO
NEED TO BE PREPARED TOGETHER
AND, AND KNOW THAT THE SYSTEMS
THAT WE'RE PUTTING IN PLACE ARE
WORKING TODAY. A PUBLIC SAFETY
POWER SHUT OFF IN SAN DIEGO,
TERRITORY THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN
20,000, FIVE YEARS AGO IS NOW
ABOUT 5000 BECAUSE OF ALL OF THE
HARDENING AND THE DIFFERENT,
METHODS THAT WE'VE USED TO
REDUCE THE IMPACTS OF PUBLIC
SAFETY. POWER SHUT OFF,
INCLUDING, NOT ONLY THE
TRADITIONAL HARDING COVERED
CONDUCTOR, SENSITIVE RELAY
SETTINGS AND, FALLING CONDUCTOR
PROTECTION, BUT ALSO STRATEGIC
UNDERGROUNDING. IF WE PUT POWER
LINES UNDERGROUND, THE CHANCE IS
NEARLY ZERO. AND YOU'LL NEVER
HAVE TO DO A PSPS. IT WON'T. SO
IF WE'RE TRYING TO GET AWAY FROM
PSPS, THAT'S THE WAY TO DO IT.
SDG AND E AT SOME POINT WOULD
LIKE TO HAVE PSPS AS SOMETHING
IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR THAT WE,
BARELY REMEMBER, THOSE BEING
SAID, I'D LIKE TO GO ON FOR DAYS
AND DAYS ON ALL OF THIS, BUT I
ALSO KNOW THAT WE ARE LIMITED IN
TIME, AND I JUST WANTED TO SAY
THAT SDG AND E IS FOREVER
COMMITTED TO CONTINUOUS
IMPROVEMENT. AND RESILIENCE OF
OUR SYSTEM, AS WELL AS THE
AFFORDABILITY OF ELECTRIFICATION
THAT WE ARE ALL STRIVING FOR.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH,
MR. PORTER. NOW WE'LL HEAR FROM
FORREST KAISER, DEPUTY EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR, SAFETY ENFORCEMENT AND
POLICY AT THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC
UTILITIES COMMISSION. GREAT.
GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR, VICE
CHAIR AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS. MY
NAME IS FORREST KAISER, AND I'M
THE DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
FOR SAFETY AND ENFORCEMENT AND
SAFETY POLICY AT THE CALIFORNIA
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION.
CPUC REGULATES INVESTOR OWNED
PUBLIC UTILITIES SPANNING A
VARIETY OF INDUSTRIES, INCLUDING
ELECTRIC AND GAS UTILITIES THAT
ARE THE FOCUS OF TODAY'S HEARING
. THERE ARE THREE MAIN MODES THE
CPUC USES TO ENSURE THAT
INVESTOR OWNED ENERGY UTILITIES
ARE APPROPRIATELY PREPARING FOR,
RESPONDING TO, RECOVERING FROM,
AND MITIGATING RISKS ASSOCIATED
WITH NATURAL AND HUMAN CAUSED
DISRUPTIONS. AND DO YOU HAVE THE
SLIDES? DO YOU HAVE THE HANDOUTS
THAT HAVE THE SLIDES ON THEM AS
WELL? THERE ARE THESE ONES RIGHT
. HERE WE GO. SO I WILL SHOW
THEM ON THE ON THE SCREEN HERE,
BUT IF YOU HAVE THEM IN FRONT OF
YOU THERE'S GOING TO BE MORE
DETAIL IN THE SLIDES. I'M JUST
GOING TO BE GIVING A VERBAL
SUMMARY OF WHAT YOU SEE ON THE
SLIDES, OKAY. SO THE THREE MODES
THAT THAT CPC USES ARE SHOWN
HERE. SO FIRST CPUC ESTABLISHES
POLICIES AND RULES TO GUIDE AND
DIRECT UTILITY ACTIONS. THèC
MONITORS COMPLIANCE WITH ITS OWN
RULES AND APPLICABLE STATE AND
FEDERAL LAWS. AND CPC
INVESTIGATES AND TAKES
ENFORCEMENT ACTION TO CORRECT
BEHAVIOR AND DETER FUTURE
NONCOMPLIANCE. SO YOU'LL SEE ALL
THREE OF THOSE MODES IN PLAY
ACROSS THE THREE MAJOR PROGRAM
AREAS. CPUC HAS ESTABLISHED TO
OVERSEE UTILITY PREPAREDNESS. SO
THE FIRST PROGRAM AREA IS ALL
HAZARDS EMERGENCY PREPARATION,
WHICH FALLS UNDER CPUC GENERAL
ORDER 166, WHICH HAS BEEN
MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY. TODAY SO A
GENERAL ORDER AT CPUC IS A
STANDING ORDER SIMILAR TO A
REGULATION THAT ESTABLISHES
ONGOING REQUIREMENTS THAT
UTILITIES MUST FOLLOW. THE
SECOND PROGRAM AREA IS GRID
RELIABILITY, WHICH IS REALLY A
SUITE OF DIFFERENT PROGRAMS AND
CROSS-CUTTING ACTIVITIES ACROSS
MULTIPLE AGENCIES MEANT TO
ENSURE GRID BALANCE DURING
PERIODS OF HIGH DEMAND. THE
THIRD PROGRAM AREA IS UTILITY
WILDFIRE RISK MITIGATION, WHICH
INCLUDES WILDFIRE MITIGATION
PLANNING, PUBLIC SAFETY, POWER
SHUTOFFS, AND WILDFIRE
INVESTIGATION AND ENFORCEMENT.
SO I'LL SPEAK TO EACH OF THESE
PROGRAMS NOW IN A LITTLE BIT
MORE DETAIL. I'LL SO STARTING
WITH THE PROGRAM AREA OF ALL
HAZARDS EMERGENCY PREPARATION, I
WANTED TO FIRST NOTE THAT THERE
IS A SEPARATE FEDERAL
REQUIREMENT FOR GAS UTILITIES TO
MAINTAIN EMERGENCY PLANS. CPUC
ENFORCES FEDERAL GAS PIPELINE
SAFETY RULES ON BEHALF OF THE
FEDERAL PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS
MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION,
INCLUDING THE EMERGENCY PLAN
REQUIREMENT. I'M HAPPY TO TAKE
QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT, BUT MY
FOCUS HERE IS GOING TO BE ON THE
ELECTRIC UTILITIES. THE CPUC S
GENERAL ORDER 166 REQUIRES THAT
ELECTRIC IOUS SUBMIT EMERGENCY
PREPAREDNESS PLANS EVERY YEAR.
THESE PLANS DETAIL HOW UTILITIES
INTERACT WITH LOCAL, STATE,
FEDERAL, AND TRIBAL AUTHORITIES
DURING ANY TYPE OF EMERGENCY
INCIDENT, AND UTILITIES ARE
REQUIRED TO USE THE CALIFORNIA
STANDARDIZED EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, ESTABLISHED
BY CAL OES THAT WAS ALSO
MENTIONED EARLIER. UTILITIES
ALSO ARE REQUIRED TO CONDUCT
TRAINING ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING
CONDUCTING EXERCISES TO ENSURE
STAFF ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE
PROTOCOLS WHEN A REAL EVENT
OCCURS. AS CPUC REVIEWS IOU
PLANS EVERY YEAR WHEN THEY ARE
SUBMITTED AND MEETS WITH IOUS TO
PROVIDE FEEDBACK AND IDENTIFY
AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT. CPUC ALSO
MONITORS IOU PERFORMANCE AND
COMPLIANCE DURING AND AFTER
EMERGENCY EVENTS. IF
APPROPRIATE, CPUC MAY ALSO TAKE
ENFORCEMENT ACTION. SO THE NEXT
PROGRAM AREA IS RELIABILITY.
RELIABLE GRID IS A VERY HIGH
PRIORITY FOR THE STATE AND
MULTIPLE AGENCIES WORK TOGETHER
ON MANY DIFFERENT PROGRAMS TO
ENSURE THAT RELIABILITY. THE
FULL SPECTRUM OF THIS
COORDINATION IS A TOPIC TOO
LARGE TO COVER HERE, AND IS A
SUBJECT OF NUMEROUS OTHER
HEARINGS, BUT I WILL SPEAK TO
TWO SUBSETS OF THAT ACTIVITY
THAT ARE MORE DIRECTLY GERMANE
TO THE REALM OF EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT. THE FIRST SUB
PROGRAM, ROTATING OUTAGE
PROTOCOLS, OR THE ELECTRIC
EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN, ADDRESSES
THE VERY, VERY RARE INSTANCES IN
WHICH THE DEMAND FOR ELECTRICITY
ON THE GRID EXCEEDS THE
AVAILABLE SUPPLY. AND ALL THE
MANY, MANY OTHER LAYERS OF
PROTECTION THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE
AS A STATE ARE NOT ABLE TO SOLVE
THE PROBLEM FIRST, IN THOSE RARE
INSTANCES, UTILITIES MUST
CLOSELY COORDINATE WITH THE
CALIFORNIA INDEPENDENT SYSTEM
OPERATOR TO TEMPORARILY TURN OFF
THE POWER TO DIFFERENT GROUPS OF
CUSTOMERS TO RESTORE GRID
BALANCE. EVERY YEAR, UTILITIES
SUBMIT THEIR PROTOCOLS FOR
IMPLEMENTING THIS COORDINATION
TO THE CPUC, WHICH THE CPUC
REVIEWS. IN THE EXCEEDINGLY RARE
EVENT THAT AN IOU MUST EXECUTE
ITS PROTOCOL, TPC CONDUCTS AN
AFTER ACTION REVIEW TO ASSESS
IOU PERFORMANCE. THE SECOND SUB
PROGRAM IS OVERSIGHT OF POWER
PLANTS, ALSO CALLED GENERATING
ASSET OWNERS. CPUC IS IN REGULAR
CONTACT WITH THE 190 POWER PLANT
OPERATORS UNDER OUR
JURISDICTION, PARTICULARLY
BEFORE THE PEAK SUMMER SEASON,
TO ENSURE THEY ARE MAINTAINING
THEIR FACILITIES AND ARE
PREPARED TO RESPOND TO UNPLANNED
OUTAGES. THE THIRD PROGRAM AREA
IS UTILITY INVOLVED WILDFIRE
RISK REDUCTION. THERE ARE THREE
PROGRAMS UNDER THIS UMBRELLA.
THE WILDFIRE MITIGATION PLANNING
PROCESS IS THE PRIMARY PURVIEW
OF THE OFFICE OF ENERGY
INFRASTRUCTURE SAFETY, AND I'LL
LET MY COLLEAGUE, DEPUTY
DIRECTOR O'ROURKE, ADDRESS THAT
IN MORE DETAIL. SOME OF THE
CPUC. S MAIN ROLES THERE ARE TO
RATIFY PLANS APPROVED BY THE
OFFICE, REVIEW IMPLEMENTATION
COSTS, AND TAKE ENFORCEMENT
ACTION WHEN APPROPRIATE. THE
SECOND PROGRAM, UNDER WELFARE
RISK REDUCTION, IS THE PUBLIC
SAFETY POWER SHUT OFF PROGRAM,
WHICH WE'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT
ALREADY TODAY. SO CPUC HAS
ESTABLISHED A DETAILED SET OF
GUIDELINES FOR UTILITIES TO
FOLLOW IN IMPLEMENTING PSPS
EVENTS AND CLOSELY MONITORS
UTILITY ACTIONS BEFORE, DURING,
AND AFTER THE EVENTS. IF
UTILITIES DO NOT COMPLY WITH
CPUC GUIDELINES, CPUC MAY TAKE
ENFORCEMENT ACTION AGAINST
UTILITIES, INCLUDING ISSUING
PENALTIES. AN IMPORTANT PART OF
THE SPS PROGRAM IS THE ACCESS
AND FUNCTIONAL NEEDS PLAN, WHICH
UTILITIES SUBMIT TO THE CPUC
EVERY YEAR. THIS PLAN DETAILS
HOW IOUS WORK WITH AFN STATE
LEADERS, AND LOCAL, STATE, AND
COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS TO
ENSURE EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
AND SUPPORT FOR AFFECTED
CUSTOMERS. THERE WE GO, OKAY. SO
WE'VE BEEN PLEASED TO OBSERVE A
DRAMATIC REDUCTION IN THE NUMBER
OF CUSTOMERS AFFECTED BY PSPS
EVENTS OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS.
IN 2020, WE SAW 24 DIFFERENT
PSPS EVENTS AFFECTING OVER 2
MILLION CUSTOMERS OR CUSTOMER
ACCOUNTS. IN CONTRAST, LAST YEAR
WE SAW JUST SEVEN EVENTS
AFFECTING UNDER 40,000 ACCOUNTS.
SO THE THIRD WILDFIRE RISK
REDUCTION PROGRAM INVOLVES
WILDFIRE INVESTIGATION AND
ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES. CPUC
INVESTIGATES EVERY UTILITY
INVOLVED. WILDFIRE TO DETERMINE
WHETHER ANY CPUC JURISDICTIONAL
ORDERS OR RULES WERE VIOLATED.
IF APPROPRIATE, CPUC MAY THEN
TAKE ENFORCEMENT ACTION AGAINST
THE UTILITY, INCLUDING PENALTY
ENFORCEMENT. AT RECENT
ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS HAVE
PENALIZED UTILITIES AS MUCH AS
$1.6 BILLION. OVER THE PAST
SEVEN YEARS, CPUC HAS TYPICALLY
HAD AT LEAST A DOZEN OPEN
WILDFIRE INVESTIGATIONS,
REACHING A PEAK OF 32 IN 2019.
SO FAR IN 2024, I'M PLEASED TO
SAY THEY ARE DOWN TO TEN. AS A
FINAL NOTE, IN ADDITION TO THESE
FOUR PROGRAMS, THESE THREE
PROGRAMS CPUC ALSO CONTINUOUSLY
MONITORS CAL OES AND FEDERAL
SOURCES FOR INFORMATION THAT
COULD EVENTUALLY LEAD TO A STATE
RESPONSE, SUCH AS WEATHER
EVENTS. CPUC SUPPORTS CAL OES
STATEWIDE DISASTER OPERATIONS.
WE'VE DEVELOPED AN INTERNAL
SENIOR MANAGEMENT ACTIVATION
PROTOCOL FOR COMMON FOR CREATING
A COMMON OPERATING PICTURE FOR
SOUND SITUATIONAL AWARENESS.
WHEN THE CPUC IS IMPLICATED IN A
STATEWIDE EVENT, WE EXERCISE
THIS PROTOCOL REGULARLY TO
REFRESH EXPECTATIONS,
COMMUNICATIONS PATHWAYS, AND
COMMUNICATION TOOLS. THAT
CONCLUDES MY REMARKS. THANK YOU
AGAIN FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO
PRESENT TODAY, AND HAPPY TO TAKE
ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
THANK YOU. MR. KAISER. FINALLY,
WE'LL HEAR FROM SHANNON O'ROURKE
, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF ENERGY
SAFETY AT THE OFFICE OF OFFICE
OF ENERGY, INFRASTRUCTURE AND
SAFETY. THANK YOU, CHAIR
RODRIGUEZ AND VICE CHAIR LIMÓN.
MY NAME IS SHANNON O'ROURKE. I'M
DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR ELECTRICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE OFFICE OF
ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE SAFETY OR
ENERGY SAFETY. I APPRECIATE THE
OPPORTUNITY TO APPEAR BEFORE YOU
TODAY. I'D LIKE TO SHARE JUST A
LITTLE BACKGROUND ON US, SINCE
WE'RE A RELATIVELY NEW AGENCY,
ENERGY SAFETY WAS ESTABLISHED IN
2020 BY ASSEMBLY BILLS 1054 AND
111, IN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE
SIGNIFICANT RISK UTILITY CAUSED
WILDFIRES POSED TO CALIFORNIANS
SAFETY. WE WERE INITIALLY THE
WILDFIRE SAFETY DIVISION WITHIN
THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
AND IN 2021, ENERGY SAFETY
TRANSITIONED INTO A NEW AGENCY
UNDER NATURAL RESOURCES. WE'RE
CHARGED WITH A SPECIFIC MANDATE
TO ENSURE INVESTOR OWNED
UTILITIES HAVE A ROBUST AND
RIGOROUS PROCESS FOR
UNDERSTANDING AND MITIGATING
THEIR WILDFIRE RISK. IN 2022,
THE UNDERGROUND SAFE EXCAVATION
BOARD, ALSO KNOWN AS THE DIGSAFE
BOARD, MOVED FROM THE STATE FIRE
MARSHAL'S OFFICE TO ENERGY
SAFETY, BROADENING OUR MISSION
TO BOTH UTILITY WILDFIRE SAFETY
AND EXCAVATION SAFETY. BUT TO
ALIGN WITH TODAY'S HEARING
TOPIC, I'LL KEEP MY COMMENTS
FOCUSED ON OUR ROLE OVERSEEING,
EFFORTS TO MITIGATE UTILITY
CAUSED WILDFIRES. SO, AS I
MENTIONED, OUR MANDATES TO
ENSURE THE UTILITIES HAVE A
ROBUST PROCESS FOR UNDERSTANDING
AND MITIGATING THEIR WILDFIRE
RISK, WE COORDINATE CLOSELY WITH
THE CPUC AS BOTH AGENCIES HAVE
WILDFIRE SAFETY RESPONSIBILITIES
. AS DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
KAISER NOTED. AND OUR
RESPONSIBILITIES ARE RELATED,
BUT THEY'RE DISTINCT IN THIS
AREA. ENERGY SAFETY EVALUATES
UTILITY WILDFIRE MITIGATION
PLANS AND ASSESSES THE UTILITIES
PERFORMANCE TO THOSE PLANS
THROUGH INSPECTIONS AND AUDITS.
AND THE CPUC DETERMINES WHETHER
A UTILITY'S PROPOSED WILDFIRE
MITIGATION PROGRAM AND
INVESTMENTS ARE JUST AND
REASONABLE, AND SHOULD BE FUNDED
BY RATEPAYERS. THEY ALSO HAVE
ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY FOR
NONCOMPLIANCE TO PLANS, SO SINCE
2020, THE UTILITIES HAVE BEEN
REQUIRED TO SUBMIT THREE YEAR
FORWARD LOOKING WILDFIRE
MITIGATION PLANS WITH ANNUAL
UPDATES WITHIN THE THREE YEAR
CYCLE. EVERY YEAR, WE'VE BEEN
PUSHING THE UTILITIES TO ENSURE
THEY UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHERE
THEIR WILDFIRE RISK IS AND TO
TARGET STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS
THAT RISK. THESE ARE SIGNIFICANT
ANALYTICAL AND PLANNING EFFORTS
AND HAVE DRIVEN MASSIVE UTILITY
INVESTMENTS IN SYSTEM HARDENING,
ENHANCED ASSET AND VEGETATION
MANAGEMENT, AND CHANGES IN HOW
THE UTILITIES OPERATE THEIR
SYSTEMS. OUR TEAM EVALUATES THE
PLANS TO ENSURE THAT THEY'RE
COMPREHENSIVE AND TECHNICALLY
FEASIBLE, THAT THEY DEMONSTRATE
AN EFFICIENT USE OF RESOURCES,
THAT THEY ALSO DEMONSTRATE
FORWARD PROGRESS AND MATURITY OF
UNDERSTANDING THEIR RISK, AND
THAT THEY'RE ADDRESSING THE
AREAS FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR
WHERE WE DIRECTED THEM THAT THEY
NEEDED TO IMPROVE. WE'RE NOW
FOUR YEARS INTO THE WILDFIRE
MITIGATION PLANNING PROCESS, AND
WHILE THERE IS STILL WORK TO DO,
WE ARE SEEING PROGRESS AT THE
TOP LEVEL. OVERALL ANNUAL
IGNITION NUMBERS HAVE DECREASED
SINCE THE UTILITIES STARTED
THEIR MITIGATION WORK IN 2020.
IN 2023, OVERALL, ACROSS ALL
UTILITIES IGNITIONS WERE WERE
REDUCED 25% LOWER FROM FROM THE
NUMBERS WHEN THEY STARTED. WE
WOULD HOPE AND EXPECT TO SEE
THIS KIND OF PROGRESS AT THIS
POINT, GIVEN THE LEVEL OF
INVESTMENT. AT THE SAME TIME, WE
ALSO KNOW THAT THERE ARE MANY
FACTORS THAT GO INTO CREATING AN
IGNITION. SIGNIFICANT ONES BEING
WEATHER AND ENVIRONMENTAL
CONDITIONS. AND AS CLIMATE
CHANGE CONTINUES TO WORSEN AND
WE SEE MORE, MORE WEATHER
EXTREMES, IT ONLY TAKES ONE
IGNITION IN THE WRONG PLACE
UNDER THE WRONG CONDITIONS TO
HAVE A CATASTROPHIC FIRE. SO I
DON'T WANT TO GIVE THE
IMPRESSION THAT ANYONE HAS
SOLVED UTILITY WILDFIRE RISK.
BUT THE UTILITIES ARE DEFINITELY
IN A BETTER POSITION TODAY THAN
THEY WERE FIVE YEARS AGO. TO
REDUCE THE LIKELIHOOD OF THEIR
INFRASTRUCTURE CAUSING A
CATASTROPHIC FIRE. IN ADDITION
TO THE MEASURES TO MITIGATE
WILDFIRE RISK ITSELF, WE REQUIRE
THE UTILITIES TO ADDRESS HOW
THEY'LL SUPPORT CUSTOMERS AND
SPECIFICALLY THEIR MOST
VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS. ACCESS AND
FUNCTIONAL NEEDS. CUSTOMERS
DURING WILDFIRES AND PUBLIC
SAFETY POWER SHUT OFFS. WE ALSO
REQUIRE THE UTILITIES TO TARGET
THEIR GRID HARDENING TO THE
CIRCUITS THAT MOST FREQUENTLY
EXPERIENCE PUBLIC SAFETY POWER
SHUT OFFS, TO REDUCE THE NEED
FOR AIR AND THE IMPACT OF THOSE
EVENTS OVER TIME. AS MY
COLLEAGUE FROM THE CPUC
IDENTIFIED, THE UTILITIES HAVE
MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS SINCE
2019 IN REDUCING THE FREQUENCY
VÆ THE SCOPE AND THE DURATION OF
THE PUBLIC SAFETY POWER SHUT OFF
EVENTS. THEY'VE DONE THIS
THROUGH TARGETED SEXUALIZING OF
THEIR DISTRIBUTION CIRCUITS,
WHICH LIMITS THE NUMBER OF
CUSTOMERS IMPACTED, AND BY
IMPROVING THE GRANULARITY OF
WEATHER FORECASTING SO THEY HAVE
MORE SPECIFIC AND TIMELY WEATHER
INFORMATION TO GUIDE THEIR
DECISIONS TO DE-ENERGIZE. AS I
MENTIONED BEFORE, THESE PLANS
ARE FILED ANNUALLY. THE LARGE
UTILITIES HAVE JUST SUBMITTED
THEIR UPDATED WILDFIRE
MITIGATION PLANS FOR 2025 TO US,
AND WE'LL CONTINUE OUR WORK TO
DRIVE THEM TO MITIGATE THEIR
RISK AND PROTECT THEIR CUSTOMERS
. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY
TO SPEAK TODAY AND I'LL STAND BY
FOR ANY QUESTIONS. WELL, THANK
YOU VERY MUCH, SENATOR, ANY
QUESTIONS? YES THANK YOU. AND
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR
PRESENTATION. CERTAINLY. THIS,
IS, AN ISSUE THAT I REGRETTABLY
KNOW MORE THAN I'D LIKE TO KNOW
ABOUT, BECAUSE OF THE THOMAS
FIRE AND BECAUSE OF JUST THE
NATURE OF THAT. AND, I MEAN,
WE'VE HAD MANY MORE FIRES, BUT
THE THOMAS FIRE CLEARLY WAS THE
BIGGEST ONE AND PROBABLY
REFLECTED SOMEWHERE IN THAT
PARTICULAR GRAPH THAT'S THERE.
BUT, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS
AND I HAVE THREE DIFFERENT KIND
OF SETS OF QUESTIONS, BUT ONE OF
THEM HAS TO DO WITH
UNDERGROUNDING AND, IT
ABSOLUTELY REDUCES, PSPS AND IT
REDUCES THE, THE, THE CHANCES OF
, OF, YOU KNOW, OF A FIRE, BEING
STARTED BY UTILITIES. THE ON THE
OTHER END AND I'VE STRUGGLED
WITH THIS A LITTLE BIT. IT ALSO
MEANS THAT ELECTRICITY IS CUT
OFF LONGER IF SOMETHING GOES
WRONG WITH THE UNDERGROUND
BECAUSE IT DOESN'T, YOU CAN'T
FIX IT AS FAST, SO ARE THE TRADE
OFFS FOR UNDERGROUNDING STILL
SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER THAN WHEN
YOU'RE UNDERGROUNDING?
INFRASTRUCTURE GOES DOWN, WHICH
DOESN'T GO DOWN AS OFTEN. BUT
WHEN IT DOES, I MEAN, YOU'RE
LOOKING AT 72 HOURS VERSUS A
THREE HOUR AVERAGE. AND HELP ME
THINK ABOUT THAT. SO, VICE
CHAIR, I CAN START, ANGIE
GIBSON, THERE'S OTHER BENEFIT
BESIDES THE WILDFIRE MITIGATION
THAT COMES FROM UNDERGROUNDING,
YOU KNOW, IN THESE AREAS THAT
WERE UNDERGROUNDING THERE, THE
SIERRA FOOTHILLS, THERE, THE
HIGH RISK AREAS USUALLY HIGHER
IN ELEVATION. SO IN ADDITION TO
THE WILDFIRE RISK, YOU'RE ALSO
MITIGATING RISK FROM WIND RISK
FROM SNOW RISK FROM A WHOLE
BUNCH OF OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL
FACTORS, THE 72 HOURS THAT THAT
YOU MENTIONED IN RESPONSE, I
THINK THAT'S, IT DEPENDS ON WHAT
THE FAULT LOCATION IS. IT REALLY
DOES DEPEND ON THAT. IT'S NOT A
DEFINITIVE 72 HOURS. IT COULD BE
MUCH LESS, AND THAT'S THE SAME
CASE WITH OVERHEAD. I THINK THE
AS YOU MENTIONED, THE ADVANTAGE
WITH OVERHEAD IS THAT YOU CAN
SEE IT AND IN MANY CASES, IT'S
EASIER TO FIND THE FAULT. I
THINK THIS IS WHERE THE
INNOVATION IN, IN,
INFRASTRUCTURE, WE HAVE SOME OF
THAT ALREADY WITH THE FAULT
INDICATORS SO WE CAN PUT
EQUIPMENT IN THE UNDERGROUND
INFRASTRUCTURE, JUST LIKE WE PUT
IN THE OVERHEAD INDUSTRY
INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WOULD ALLOW
A TROUBLESHOOTER TO OPEN UP A
LID AND SEE IS THE FAULT BEYOND
THIS POINT, WHICH IS GOING TO
SPEED UP THE ASSESSMENT. AND SO
THERE THERE'S ALREADY THINGS IN
PLACE, BUT THAT MAYBE THAT'S
MORE INNOVATION SPACE WHERE WE
COULD IDENTIFY, YOU KNOW, IF I
WERE THINKING WHAT WOULD NEED TO
BE TRUE FOR US TO DESIGN A PIECE
OF EQUIPMENT, A FAULT INDICATOR
THAT USED AN APPLICATION THAT
WOULD ACTUALLY SHOW ON OUR MAP
OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE TO OUR
TROUBLESHOOTER, WHERE ALL THE
FAULT LOCATORS ARE LOCATED, AND
THEN WHERE THE FLASHING LIGHT
STARTS, BECAUSE THEN THAT
TROUBLESHOOTER DOESN'T HAVE TO
LIFT ALL THOSE LIDS TO GET TO
THAT ONE POINT. THEY CAN GO
DIRECTLY TO THAT POINT. AND SO I
THINK, UNDERGROUNDING I DON'T
THINK IS GOING TO AFFECT THE
RELIABLE K¾T TO OUR CUSTOMERS,
ON A DAY TO DAY, I THINK THE,
THE OFFSET OF THE OTHER RISKS IS
GOING TO OVERSHADOW THE RISK OF
A LONGER DURATION OUTAGE, GIVEN
THE PERCENTAGE OF THAT RISK THAT
EXISTS FOR THAT. DOES THAT MAKE
SENSE? IT DOES. YES IT DOES. AND
THIS IS PART OF WHAT YOU HEAR.
YOU KNOW, I THINK, OR WHAT YOU
HEAR FROM REALLY, FROM DIFFERENT
STAKEHOLDERS, NOT JUST LIKE
HERE. RANDOM. RIGHT. LIKE YOU
ACTUALLY HAVE STAKEHOLDERS AT
THE TABLE WHO KIND OF THINK THIS
THROUGH. AND I GUESS THAT, YOU
KNOW, THIS WAS GOING TO BE MY
THIRD QUESTION, BUT I CAN KIND
OF BRING IT UP. YOU KNOW, I'M
LOOKING AT, AT THE BUDGET FOR
THE STATE, AND I'M LOOKING AT
WHAT EARLY ACTION LOOKS LIKE.
AND PROGRAMS LIKE THE HOME
HARDENING, COMMUNITY HARDENING
TO BUILD DISASTER RESILIENT
COMMUNITY PROGRAMS LIKE THE LIST
JUST GOES ON. I MEAN, I MEAN,
RIGHT, LIKE I WAS WHAT YOU THIS
IS WHAT I WAS TRYING TO DO. I
WAS LIKE, WAIT, WHICH WHICH ONES
ARE THE FUNDS THAT ARE ABOUT TO
BE DELAYED? DEFERRED AND, I
MEAN, THERE'S QUITE A NUMBER OF
WORDS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH
THAT. RIGHT? AND SO I'M JUST
THINKING OF THE FACT THAT, YOU
KNOW, WHAT IS THIS ALL MEAN IN
LIGHT OF THE NEWEST AND BEST
KIND OF DIRECTION WE'RE GOING
INTO, IN A WORLD WHERE THE FUNDS
TO BE ABLE TO BE INNOVATIVE,
RIGHT. YOU MENTIONED INNOVATION,
MIGHT NOT QUITE BE THERE ON OUR
SIDE. AND SO WHAT DOES THAT LOOK
LIKE AND WHAT DOES THAT LOOK
LIKE TO THE TRANSITION? THÀNH, I
MEAN, RIGHT, LIKE JUST GENERALLY
SPEAKING. AND ARE THERE TRADE
OFFS THAT ARE WORTHY OF
CONSIDERING IN A, IN A TOUGH
BUDGET YEAR THAT MAYBE WEREN'T
CONSIDERED THREE YEARS AGO, KIND
OF IN THAT BIGGER SPACE? AND
IT'S A CONCERN TO ME. I MEAN,
IT'S CERTAINLY A CONCERN, THE
STATE BUDGET IS WHAT IT IS, AND
WE WILL DEAL WITH IT. BUT I'M
JUST VERY AWARE THAT AS YOU LOOK
AT WHAT EARLY ACTION LOOKS LIKE
IN APRIL, THERE ARE PROGRAMS
THERE, THAT OUR COMMUNITIES HAVE
RELIED ON TO HELP BUILD THIS
RESILIENCY THAT WE'VE TALKED
ABOUT TO HELP REBUILD AFTER
QUITE A NUMBER OF YEARS, OF
CHALLENGES. AND THAT WILL IMPEDE
OR SLOW DOWN SOME OF THE
PROGRESS THAT WE'VE MADE. AND
I'M TRYING TO JUST AGAIN, THINK
OF THIS. AND YOU REALLY WAS
SMILING. SO I FEEL LIKE YOU
SHOULD JUST SAY SOMETHING, GO
FOR IT. SURE. I MEAN, I'LL JUST
I'LL JUST OFFER THAT. I ACTUALLY
WANTED TO GO BACK TO A COMMENT
THAT YOU MADE EARLIER, WHICH IS
ABOUT GEOGRAPHIC VARIABILITY. I
MEAN, WE HAVE HUGE VARIABILITY
IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.
THERE'S REALLY DIFFERENT
CONDITIONS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF
THE STATE. AND EVEN IN, YOU
KNOW, TERRITORY LIKE PG AND E
TERRITORY, TREMENDOUS DIVERSITY
EVEN WITHIN THAT TERRITORY. AND
SO I THINK JUST ASKING THE
QUESTION ABOUT LIKE, WHAT
SOLUTION, YOU KNOW, IS
UNDERGROUNDING GOOD. I THINK,
KIND OF MAYBE I THINK A BETTER
QUESTION IS LIKE, WHERE IS
UNDERGROUNDING THE RIGHT
SOLUTION VERSUS OTHER KINDS OF
SOLUTIONS? I THINK IT REALLY YOU
REALLY HAVE TO LOOK AT IT ON A
CASE BY CASE BASIS. EVERY
DIFFERENT LOCATION MIGHT HAVE
DIFFERENT CONDITIONS, MIGHT HAVE
DIFFERENT LEVELS OF RESILIENCY
IN THAT COMMUNITY. WE MIGHT HAVE
DIFFERENT RELIABILITY IMPACTS.
AND SO I THINK, IT REALLY TAKES
A GRANULAR CASE BY CASE ANALYSIS
TO ANSWER YOUR, YOUR VERY
IMPORTANT AND VALID QUESTION.
AND TO THAT END, YOU KNOW, WE DO
HAVE THE SB 84 PROGRAM, THAT
ACTUALLY BOTH OF OUR AGENCIES
ARE JOINTLY CHARGED WITH
IMPLEMENTING AND IT REQUIRES
THAT KIND OF ANALYSIS. SO WHEN
UTILITIES BRING TEN YEAR
UNDERGROUNDING PLANS TO, YOU
KNOW, OUR AGENCIES, YOU KNOW,
YOU KNOW, THE STAFF WILL BE
CHARGED WITH, YOU KNOW,
REVIEWING THOSE KINDS OF DETAILS
AND THE UTILITIES TO BRING THOSE
PLANS TO US WILL BE RESPONSIBLE
FOR EXPLAINING IN DETAIL, YOU
KNOW, WHERE WHERE IS
UNDERGROUNDING THE RIGHT
SOLUTION AND WHERE IS IT
SOMETHING ELSE. SO THANK YOU.
AND I WANTED TO GO TO ONE OF
YOUR SLIDES, IT'S THE ONE THAT'S
IT'S NOT THIS ONE. IT'S
MITIGATING RISK OF UTILITY
CAUSED WILDFIRES. AND YOU WENT
FROM 2020 TO 2023 TO THE CHANGE.
AND THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF
CHANGE, AND, AND, I MEAN,
MILLIONS AND CHANGE IN TERMS OF
THE, THOSE THAT ARE IMPACTED,
AND I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD
JUST DIG A LITTLE BIT DEEPER ON
WHAT YOU ATTRIBUTE THAT'S A
POSITIVE CHANGE JUST FOR
EVERYONE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY
KNOW THAT'S A GOOD THING. LESS
CUSTOMERS ARE IMPACTED BY PSP
EVENTS. IS IT BECAUSE WE ARE NOW
ALSO DOING UNDERGROUNDING? IS IT
BECAUSE WE GOT OUR SYSTEM DOWN?
IS IT BECAUSE WE'RE DOING
TRANSLATION? IS IT ALL OF THE
ABOVE OR IS THERE SOMETHING
THERE AS WELL THAT WE'RE NOT
THINKING ABOUT THAT CONTRIBUTES
TO THAT POSITIVE CHANGE? YEAH.
NO I THINK IT'S A IN ALL OF THE
ABOVE RESPONSE, I THINK THERE'S
BEEN A LOT OF HARD WORK. AND YOU
HEARD FROM, YOU KNOW, CAL OYEZ
AT THE EARLIER PANEL, YOU'VE
HEARD FROM UTILITIES HERE, YOU
KNOW, THERE'S BEEN A TREMENDOUS
AMOUNT OF WORK BY MULTIPLE
AGENCIES TO, YOU KNOW, AND
UTILITIES TO GET A MORE FINE
TUNED PROCESS, TO GET MORE
GRANULAR DATA TO UNDERSTAND
WHERE THE WEATHER IS HAPPENING,
HOW IT'S GOING TO CHANGE OVER
TIME, TO GET MORE GRANULAR
CONTROL OVER THE ACTUAL CIRCUITS
THEMSELVES, TO HAVE BETTER AND
CLEARER AND STANDARDIZED
EXPECTATIONS FOR HOW THE
INFORMATION IS BEING
COMMUNICATED TO PUBLIC SAFETY
PARTNERS, TO CUSTOMERS, TO ALL
THE AGENCIES, AND TO UNDERSTAND,
YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT THE
EXPECTATIONS ARE IN TERMS OF
OPERATIONAL, YOU KNOW,
PERFORMANCE. I THINK JUST
THERE'S BEEN IMPROVEMENTS FROM
EVERY STAKEHOLDER IN THIS
PROCESS. AND, YOU KNOW, TO BE
PERFECTLY HONEST, WE'VE GOTTEN
SOME BENEFIT FROM MOTHER NATURE
AS WELL. OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF
YEARS. WE'VE HAD SOME SOME NICE
RAIN AND WET WEATHER, AND THAT'S
DEFINITELY HELPED AS WELL. AND
IT'S JUST GETTING THE RAIN AND
THE PRECIPITATION BEFORE THE
WINDS PICK UP. YOU KNOW, WHEN
THAT TIMING HAPPENS, THEN IT'S
YOU SEE MUCH LESS CHANCE OF THE
PSPS HAPPENING. YEAH. I CAN'T
AGREE MORE ON THE ON THE
WEATHER, I THINK THERE'S A LOT
OF WEATHER IN THAT. BUT I THINK
THE IF, IF WE LOOK AT NUMBERS
LIKE WHAT I REFLECT THAT 20,000
DOWN TO 5000 FOR THE SAME KIND
OF EVENT. SO WE CAN GO BACK NOW
AND LOOK AT OUR PAST EVENTS AND
RUN ANALYSIS CGRTS OF WHAT OUR
SECTIONALIZING, CAPABILITIES ARE
AND WHAT WE WOULD SHUT OFF NOW
WITH THAT SAME SET OF DATA THAT
WE USED, TO SHUT PEOPLE OFF, AND
WE CAN COME UP WITH NUMBERS THAT
ARE, THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, THE
REAL KIND OF NUMBERS TO LOOK AT
FOR THIS. HOW ARE WE CHANGING
THE EFFECT ON THE PEOPLE WITH
THE SAME, LOOKING AT THE SAME
EVENT THEN AND NOW? THAT WOULD
BE INTERESTING. YEAH. YEAH, I
MEAN, THAT WOULD BE REALLY
INTERESTING. I THINK ONE PSPS
ARE JUST MORE IT'S MORE COMMON.
RIGHT. THE IT'S MORE KNOWN OUR
CONSTITUENTS KNOW ABOUT IT. I
THINK THERE WAS A QUESTION ABOUT
HOW WE GET THE INFORMATION OUT.
AND I WAS JUST THINKING, YOU
KNOW, AS SOMEONE WHO LIVES IN A
DISTRICT THAT HAS THESE ON
OCCASION, LIKE WE GET NOTICES,
AND SO, I WOULD BE INTERESTED
BECAUSE WE CAN'T PREDICT THE
WEATHER. WE CAN'T DO A WHOLE LOT
ABOUT THE WEATHER, DESPITE THAT,
I THINK I JUST READ DUBAI'S
DOING, LIKE, SOME RAIN. RIGHT.
THAT, BUT BUT WE DON'T HAVE THAT
CAPACITY OR BUDGET FOR IT, BUT,
BUT, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, LOOKING
AT THOSE THINGS THAT WE CAN
CONTROL AND THAT POSITION, YOU
KNOW, THE POSITION OF JUST
GETTING TO THE CONSTITUENTS. I
THINK OUR CONSTITUENTS KNOW WHAT
IT IS MORE TODAY THAN THEY DID A
DECADE AGO, AND OUR CONSTITUENTS
PREPARE FOR IT, I THINK,
DIFFERENTLY. AND WHEN I SAY
CONSTITUENTS, IT'S NOT JUST THE
INDIVIDUAL IN A HOME OR IN A
BUSINESS. IT'S ALSO THE
COMMUNITY, LOCAL GOVERNMENT
THERE, IT KIND OF HAS A PLAN. SO
I'D BE CURIOUS TO, IF I COULD
REFLECT ON THAT AS WELL. PSPS AS
NAMED PSPS IS, IS STILL
RELATIVELY NEW, AS I MENTIONED,
SDG AND Â WAS DOING IT ABOUT
FIVE YEARS PREVIOUS, AND THE
PUSHBACK WAS IMMENSE IN THOSE
EARLY YEARS. AND NOW SOME OF OUR
GREATEST SUPPORTERS ARE THE SAME
PEOPLE THAT WERE, BEING AFFECTED
BY PSPS IN THOSE EARLY YEARS OR
DIDN'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT,
DIDN'T WANT TO SEE IT, THE BACK
COUNTRY OR UP IN THE, THE
COUNTRY AREAS OF, OF SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO AND, AND
SO, I THINK THAT THERE IS A
STORY THERE THAT WE COULD BUILD
AS A STATE THAT THIS IS TRULY
THE LAST RESORT TO KEEP YOU AND
YOUR FAMILIES SAFE. THANK YOU.
YEAH. THANK YOU. I MEAN,
OBVIOUSLY, WE CAN GO ON AND ON
WITH ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE
BEING DONE. AND OBVIOUSLY
CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL AS WE'RE
SEEING YEAR AFTER YEAR. RIGHT.
AND IT'S VERY HARD TO PREDICT
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS. BUT I'M
REALLY IMPRESSED WITH
EVERYTHING. YOU'RE DOING THERE
IN SAN DIEGO AND PG AND E, THOSE
PLANNINGS AND HOW YOU'VE GROWN
TO REALLY LOOK OUT WHAT THE
WEATHER PATTERNS ARE DOING IN
OUR AREAS. RIGHT. I JUST HAVE
ONE QUESTION, WITH EVERYTHING
WE'RE DOING AND PREPARING FOR
WORST CASE SCENARIO, SO TO
SPEAK, WHAT WHAT WHAT DOES I
WORK IN THIS ARENA? RIGHT.
BECAUSE WOULD THAT BE VERY
HELPFUL? IS THAT SOMETHING YOU
GUYS ARE LOOKING AT BECAUSE IT'S
COMING. IT'S HERE. RIGHT. SO HOW
COULD THAT HELP US OR HELP YOU
TO BETTER PREPARE OURSELVES FOR
THE WORST CASE SCENARIOS? YEAH.
SO THAT'S A REALLY GREAT
QUESTION. AND IT IS SOMETHING
THAT WE'RE CONTINUALLY
EVALUATING. YOU KNOW, WE'VE
LEARNED A LOT FROM THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF AI AND OUR
WILDFIRE CAMERAS. YOU KNOW,
THERE'S 1040 CAMERAS IN THE
CAMERA NETWORK. AND PGA
SPONSORS, OVER 615 OF THOSE
CAMERAS. AND, WE WHEN WE
IMPLEMENTED AI ON JUNE 1ST, YOU
KNOW, WE HAD TO LET THE SYSTEM
LEARN AND DODD AND OUR PARTNERS
AT CAL FIRE HAVE PROVIDED A LOT
OF REALLY GREAT INFORMATION
ABOUT WHAT THEY'VE SEEN, AND
WHAT I, WHAT I'VE SEEN FROM SOME
OF THAT, THAT INFORMATION IS
THAT YOU KNOW, WE'RE GETTING THE
OPPORTUNITY TO MORE QUICKLY
RESPOND TO IGNITION, AND THAT'S
ALLOWING US TO HAVE A GREATER
SUCCESS RATE WHEN THE FIRES IN
ITS INCIPIENT STAGE, AND SO I
CAN BRING THAT SAME VALUE TO A
LOT OF OTHER DISASTER TYPE
MODELING. YOU KNOW, AS I
INDICATED, WE'RE LOOKING AT
USING ADDING AI TO DASH, WHICH
IS OUR SEISMIC MODELING. YOU
KNOW, THAT'S GOING TO WOULD
ALLOW US TO BETTER UNDERSTAND
THE VARIETY, THE VARIATION OF
GEOLOGY WITHIN THE SERVICE
TERRITORY AND HOW THE SEISMIC
WAVES WOULD BE ACCELERATED OR
DECELERATED BY THAT DIFFERENT
GEOLOGY, THERE'S A THERE'S JUST
SO MUCH OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT.
AND WITH THAT, THOUGH, THERE HAS
TO BE SOME CAUTION, RIGHT?
BECAUSE IT'S STILL A IT'S STILL
QUITE UNKNOWN, AND, I JUST, I
JUST THINK THAT, YOU KNOW,
THAT'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE
SOMETHING THAT'S IN THE
FOREFRONT OF OUR MINDS AT PG AND
E IS HOW TO LEVERAGE AI TO, TO,
TO LEARN FASTER THAN, YOU KNOW,
WE CAN LEARN OURSELVES. AND I
WANT TO JUST ADD, WHILE WE'RE
THE CAMERA NETWORK STATEWIDE IS
DOING THAT THE AI IT'S SO
ANYWHERE YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE
AT THE MOUNTAIN TOP CAMERAS IS
NOW NOW USING THAT AI FOR SMOKE
DETECTION, ALSO, IN SDG AND E
TERRITORY WHERE WE'RE USING, AI
APPLICATION OVER OUR WEATHER
MODELING, IN ORDER TO BETTER
PREDICT WHAT THE WHAT THE
CHANGES IN THE WEATHER ARE GOING
TO BE BASED ON THE LAST 15 YEARS
OF DATA THAT WE HAVE, IN OUR,
OUR BANK TO, KIND OF MIRROR
THAT. SO WE'RE STARTING TO SEE A
VERY, VERY CLOSE TREND LINE DOWN
TO THE MINUTE, OF WHAT THAT
WEATHER CHANGE IS. SO THEN WE'LL
BE ABLE TO TELL WHEN SANTA
ANNA'S OR ARE LIKELY TO PEAK
BASED ON ALL OF THAT PREVIOUS
ACTIVITY. SO AND WE'RE ALSO
LOOKING AT MANY OTHER WAYS TO
USE AI. ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER
QUESTIONS? I THINK THAT WAS IT.
I THINK I HAD A VERY GOOD,
DISCUSSION ON A LOT OF THESE
ISSUES. LIKE I SAID EARLIER TO
THE FIRST PANEL, OBVIOUSLY, LIKE
I SAID BEFORE, AND I ALWAYS SAID
WE'RE DISASTER PRONE STATE.
RIGHT. AND HOW DO WE PREPARE
OURSELVES LESSONS LEARNED YEAR
AFTER YEAR? AND REALLY, WHAT CAN
WE DO AS A LEGISLATURE TO MAKE
SURE YOU GUYS GET WHAT YOU NEED?
OBVIOUSLY FUNDING IS ONE THING,
BUT WE'RE HAVING YEARS LIKE THIS
YEAR. IT'S NOT TOO GOOD, BUT
NEVERTHELESS, WE NEED TO STAY ON
TOP OF THIS AND WE NEED TO BE A
LEADER IN DISASTER RESPONSE AND
RECOVERY. OBVIOUSLY WE'RE DOING
IT, BUT ALWAYS LOOKING AT THE
WORST CASE SCENARIOS, RIGHT? IN
THAT LAST YEAR WHEN I TOURED ONE
OF THE AREAS FOR FROM THE
FLOODING, AND THEY HAD REACHED
OUT TO ME AND TALKED TO ME ABOUT
, WE DIDN'T KNOW THIS WAS GOING
TO GET THIS BAD. I'M LIKE, OKAY,
SHOULDN'T YOU BE THINKING AHEAD
THAT WORST CASE SCENARIOS THAT
THIS CAN HAPPEN OR WILL HAPPEN
ON TOP OF OTHER THINGS, RIGHT.
LET'S ALWAYS MAKE SURE THAT
WE'RE EDUCATING OURSELVES. AND
LIKE I SAID, AT THE END OF THE
DAY, WE'RE ALL GOING TO RELY ON
ONE ANOTHER TO HELP, RIGHT?
RESOURCES AND DATA AND
EVERYTHING ELSE WE CAN DO TO
PREPARE OUR COMMUNITIES. SO WITH
THAT, THAT'S ALL OUR QUESTIONS I
THINK I SHOULD OPEN UP FOR
PUBLIC COMMENT. IF THERE'S
ANYBODY IN THE PUBLIC HAS A
COMMENT, AND THEN I THINK WE'LL
WRAP IT UP AFTER THAT. HI. GOOD
AFTERNOON, LAURA PALMER WITH
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON. I
JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT A FEW OF
THE OF THE WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN
DOING ON THE GROUND FOR EDISON,
AS IS HIGHLIGHTED IN YOUR
BACKGROUNDER DOCUMENT FROM THE
COMMITTEE, WE FOCUSED A LOT ON
COVERED CONDUCTOR AS ONE OF THE
OPTIONS THAT WE SEE THAT COULD
HELP MITIGATE WILDFIRES. SO I
JUST WANT TO POINT THAT OUT AND
PROVIDE SOME DATA POINTS THERE.
AS OF DECEMBER OF 2021, WE WERE
ABLE TO INSTALL 2500 MILES OF
COVERED CONDUCTOR, AND WE'VE
SEEN A HUGE IMPROVEMENT AT
REDUCING RISK. AND, THAT'S
HELPED US ALONG WITH PSPS AND
OTHER OF THE MITIGATION EFFORTS
TO HOPEFULLY REDUCE THE
PROBABILITY OF CATASTROPHIC
WILDFIRES FROM 55, TO NOW 65. SO
WE'VE BEEN CONTINUE TO IMPROVE
ON THAT. AND THAT'S SOMETHING
WE'LL CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON. AND
OUR WILDFIRE MITIGATION PLAN AT
THE CPUC. SO THANK YOU. THANK
YOU. ANYONE ELSE SEEING NONE I
WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY FOR
PARTICIPATING. THANK YOU,
SENATOR, FOR JOINING ME AS WELL.
AND THIS HEARING IS ADJOURNED.
THANK YOU.