PG&E holding North Coast fire season webinar on Wednesday

Details on hardening infrastructure, precautions and what to expect as fire season nears are part of an interactive talk led by PG&E set for Wednesday.

photo credit: Marc Albert/KRCB
PG&E's Petaluma substation

Will wildfire danger mean you'll have your electricity cut this summer? How vulnerable are electrical transmission lines and what's being done about it?

Next Wednesday you can hear first hand, directly from Pacific Gas & Electric Company representatives, who have scheduled an online informational session.

"The town hall is going to focus on updates on the work we are doing up and down the North Coast, wildfire safety updates and how customers can get prepared for wildfire season," said Megan McFarland, a PG&E spokesperson.

"Also there is going to be a lot of time at the end for Q&A. We have our vice president for the North Coast Region, Dave Canny on there, so customers can come with questions and speak with some of our north coast leadership if anyone has any specific questions," McFarland continued.

The company says it has installed microgrid systems in some remote communities, buried transmission lines in others.

The utility also says Its enhanced powerline safety settings are more widespread.

"Those are settings that make the lines a little more sensitive so if vegetation, tree limbs, tree branches come in contact with our lines, it actually shuts the line down. PG&E Patrols the entire line, makes sure there's no hazards and we re-energize it," McFarland said.

McFarland stated that in fact has made the company less dependent upon and it's customers less frustrated by the pre-emptive blackouts PG&E calls Public Safety Power Shut Offs.

"Since we started using these EPSS settings, the need for public safety power shutoffs has greatly diminished," McFarland added.

That means fewer, and shorter disruptions.

"PSPS events often impact more customers for a longer period of time," McFarland said.

The May 29th virtual meeting runs from 5:30 to 7 p.m. You can join by clicking here https://bit.ly/43S0fmd or by finding it here pge.com/webinars .