Southern California Edison’s new weather awareness page now gives hospitals and other business customers advanced warning about Public Safety Power Shutoff events.
Public Safety Power Shutoffs, or PSPS events, are designed to reduce risk of wildfire during high-wind and other fire-weather events. For the past several years, SCE has worked with HASC to keep hospitals up to date on the latest information associated with PSPS events.
Advanced warning about PSPS events allows hospitals to plan ahead for temporary onsite power and inform patients with special needs who require air conditioning, refrigeration for medication, and electrical power for oxygen, CPAP, and other health-critical systems.
“The weather awareness page will let customers know ahead of time about an upcoming PSPS Event, at the county level, up to five days before the weather event,” said Griselda Rodriguez of SCE’s business customer division. SCE plans to expand that to seven days ahead, in the new year.
“Once we are within 72 hours of a potential PSPS event, our customers can obtain address level information about PSPS events affecting their communities by going to sce.com/psps,” added Rodriguez.
The new weather awareness page uses a color-coded system to identify possible weather conditions that may require SCE to shut off power in order to keep communities safe from wildfires. In some areas of Southern California, shutoffs coincide with the region’s Santa Ana winds season that typically begins in the fall. Other regions, including the mountains and the coast, face different wind conditions that can occur at other times of the year.
SCE employs “a team of experts in grid operations, meteorology and fire science that monitor weather models for any changes or shifts in weather patterns,” the site states.
With questions, please contact HASC Vice President, External Affairs and Strategic Communications Adam Blackstone.