December 11, 2024
AN OPEN LETTER TO MEMBERS OF ANZA ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC.
Dear AEC Members,
I am writing to you as a follow up to the Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) event of December 10-11, 2024. There are several misunderstandings, incorrect information, and uninformed opinions surrounding this event currently in the public sphere that require correction. Thank you in advance for taking time to read this response to these issues.
PSPS Background
In 2012, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) ruled that California Public Utilities Code Sections 451 and 399.2(a) give the electric Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs) authority to shut off the electric power to protect public safety. If the IOUs reasonably believe that there is an imminent and significant risk that strong winds may topple power lines or cause major vegetation-related issues leading to increased risk of wildfires, they are allowed by law to proactively turn circuits off as a last resort to prevent the risk of fire. Anza Electric Cooperative (AEC) is not an IOU; however, we take delivery of the majority of our energy through Southern California Edison’s (SCE’s) system in Mountain Center. SCE is an IOU.
To be very clear, Anza Electric Cooperative, Inc. (AEC) has never de-energized our lines as a measure of wildfire safety. SCE has disconnected service to our cooperative only twice under PSPS rules, both times this year; once in November and once in December. These decisions are made by SCE for the protection of the service areas that their lines pass through and are out of our control.
Wildfires in California
Our state has seen some of the most devastating and destructive fires in our history during the last few years. Many of these fires are caused by electric utilities either being damaged by weather events or contacted by vegetation during these events. According to the Western Fire Chiefs Association, 19% of the fires in our state were caused by incidents on electric power lines.
Wind speed is just one factor involved in determining fire risk associated with electric lines. The National Weather Service issues Red Flag warnings when relative humidity is 15% or less with
either sustained winds of 25 mph or greater or frequent gusts of 35 mph or greater for a duration of 6 hours or more.
All lands within California that fall under the jurisdiction of the State Fire Marshall are classified by fire risk. Most of the AEC service territory is classified as “Very High,” the highest possible risk category. Many of the undeveloped areas of Western Riverside County are either “High” or “Very High,” including areas that SCE serves. This includes the lines that feed our system from theirs.
PSPS Notification Protocol
Public notification of PSPS events begins three days ahead of the forecast “period of concern.” This lead time is intended to give customers ample time to plan for a possible outage. When SCE issues these notices, AEC mirrors them and notifies our members. It is important to understand that the initial forecast periods of concern are for when a shutoff may occur, not an estimate of its duration. More information is released as it becomes available.
Some comments have been made by members stating that they felt we did not provide sufficient communication during this recent event. We typically update our members whenever there is a significant change in circumstances regarding any event. During this PSPS event, we did not receive any updates from SCE regarding the outage until being notified that the circuit was re- energized on December 11th at approximately 7:00 am. In the meantime, we continued to take calls concerning the outage all day on the 10th. The outage lasted approximately 29 hours.
PSPS decision making
The exact process for determining if and when a circuit should be de-energized is complex. SCE has published a document that explains this process; click the link below to access this document.
Summary
In closing, I’d like to thank all our members for their patience and understanding during these events. While outages of any duration are certainly difficult and challenging to deal with, protecting our service territories from wildfires is of the highest concern for both Anza Electric and SCE. We will continue to work together to reduce these risks to the fullest extent possible, while maintaining the highest standards of safety, resilience, and reliable service.
Sincerely,
Kevin Short General Manager