After last week’s Public Safety Power Shutoff by PG&E that left more than 700,000 customers without power, Gov. Gavin Newsom this week called on the utility to give a credit or rebate to affected residents and businesses.
In a letter to PG&E president William Johnson, Newsom said the San Francisco-based utility “was not adequately prepared to conduct or implement a power outage, especially one on this unprecedented scale.”
About 738,000 customers lost power in the preemptive shutoff across more than 30 counties starting early Wednesday as part of PG&E’s efforts to prevent its equipment from sparking wildfires.
The governor’s letter noted that PG&E’s website did not work for much of the week as customers tried to determine if they were in an area that would lose power, and call centers had long wait times for information.
Newsom also criticized the utility for failing to properly maintain its equipment, saying “this outage was the direct result of decades of PG&E prioritizing profit over public safety, mismanagement, inadequate investment in fire safety and fire prevention measures, and neglect of critical infrastructure.”
The governor called on PG&E to give a credit or rebate of $100 to residential customers who were affected, and $250 per small business.
Newsom also sent a letter to California Public Utilities Commission president Marybel Batjer confirming that the CPUC, the state regulatory agency overseeing PG&E, will conduct a comprehensive review of the utility’s planning, implementation and decision-making processes for the shutoff.
Citing what he called PG&E’s “astounding neglect and lack of preparation” for the shutoff, Newsom wrote to Batjer that the review was necessary “so we can take concrete and expedited steps to both limit and focus the use” of future shutoffs.
Batjer wrote her own letter to PG&E’s Johnson on Monday, saying the CPUC identified several areas where “immediate corrective actions are required,” including accelerating the restoration of power after the fire
danger has passed, and developing better protocols for disseminating information to the public.
Batjer directed PG&E to perform an “after-action review” and file it with the state agency by the end of the business day Thursday.
The CPUC will also hold an emergency meeting Friday at its San Francisco headquarters to hear from PG&E executives about the shutoff.
A spokesperson for PG&E was not immediately available to comment on the letters by the governor and the CPUC.
Good Old Gavin piling right on. Who ends up paying for this stuff ? Ratepayers..
Hear, hear!
Yep! All of us ratepayers will have our utility bill go up even more!
What about workers who lost three days pay ?
newsom’s plan seems like a gift to pge, as if $100 will replace a refrigerator and freezer worth of perishables.
On subject of possible astounding neglect, isn’t cpuc supposed to be putting the interests of pge customers as their primary focus ? Were they keeping track of any changes in maintenance practices ? Are they in place, merely to rubber stamp rate increases ?
It may not replace a fridge and freezer worth of perishables, but $100 replaces a lot more than $0 does.
Repay me for what? A couple of days without TV? That I had to open my garage door manually? Both the legislature and the CPUC set up the rules for this shut down. Personally would be better to force PGE to get the smart grid going and invest in infrastructure .
@Aunt Barbara… Those leaf blowers aren’t such a major concern now in the whole scope of things huh?
“lives in danger” because of the dark?
“hard to feed your family?”
“can’t get news updates?
Wow – such whiners. You don’t know how good you have it. Wait until the earthquake takes out your water, power, cable TV, phone, sewer, food, gas, etc… You better file a suit against yourself for being unprepared.
You DO know that PG&E was required to shut off power with high winds/temperatures? You DO know that PG&E gave several days warning? Yet you ignored it?
You deserve what you got. The only certain things in life are death and taxes.
I didn’t loose power, but was affected…Pay Me Now! 😉
Recall this clown Newsome
I think the Prince of San Francisco overstepped his bounds. This would be a court matter.
The SoCal fire was traced back to a truck whose load caught on fire – the truck driver pulled over and dumped the burning items on the side of the road. There’s also a video of the smoking truck, when the guy pulls over, etc.
We poked the bear, the bear poked back.
This is what happens when there is no competition (ooh, do I dare mention capitalism) in a market. We have one choice. When we sue that choice into oblivion, well, we know what happens from there.
While I agree with the fact that the shut downs were stupid and a direct result of PG&E’s negligence I just want to ask something.
Do people not have battery packs for recharging phones, computers, etc.? Do people not have emergency lanterns or solar powered lights? Heck even a headlamp or flashlight?
I’m surprised how unprepared people are for natural disasters in my community.
Wait until they raise rates to recoup the lost income of shutting down. They’ll say they need minimum income just to maintain equipment and pay salaries even if the power is shut off.
Then they’ll raise it to pay for any refund.
Same reason.
When the PUC says there is a hearing to assess the need, that means get ready for the increase.
There have been a couple of decent sized SoCal fires. The larger of the two, Saddle Ridge, was said to have been caused by sparking electrical transmission lines. The second fire, don’t recall the name, was the trash on fire that was dumped on vegetation.
Didn’t the CPUC or the legislature pass some rules requiring PG&E to shut down the power if it was determined there were high fire dangers?
And if so, why is he “demanding” that PG&E “pay” the customers for loss of power? Newsom is a fraud….and a politician. But I repeat myself.
As others have pointed out – it seems that everyone is playing the victim because they weren’t prepared. Well, who you gonna sue when the next earthquake takes out your power/water/gas/food?
Idiots.
Sorry, Barbara – don’t work/never worked for PG&E, not angry and moved out of CA after I retired. Still have property in CA. You’re wrong on all counts.
What I am is disgusted with your whining and expectations that you’ll have everything you want at the snap of your fingers. I think they call that “entitlement.”
Oooohhh.. it makes it “hard “ to feed your family or it’s “dangerous “ because it’s dark.
Grow up, babs. You snowflakes don’t know how good you’ve got it. It makes me wonder how you’ve survived so far.
Now go take your faux outrage back to your safe space whee you can play with your unicorns and puppies and sing Kum-bay-yah.
I do, and You’re Welcome for the response to the 1,000+ calls related to the 10/14 Earthquake.
What’s worse is that people were claiming that “PG&E shut their gas off” when it was the homeowners own earthquake device which needed to be reset!!!
I have about as much say at the company as a barista has at Starbucks regarding their corporate policies.
Might’ve been hopeful that PG&E would’ve taken the better road and made sure all their equipment doesn’t spark in the first place. Huge, expensive undertaking? Absolutely. But it wouldn’t be punishing the consumer for the sins of the company.
But hey, this is America, land of money grubbing, where the dollar is almighty and the neighbors are expendable.
Ridiculous solution by a ridiculous politician. Put your foot up their arse and make sure it never happens again.
Hard to believe anyone voted for this fool.
Isn’t the role of the CPUC to make sure that California residents have safe reliable power? Hasn’t it been their role all along to make sure that what has happened because of PG&E should have never happened? The hypocrisy and corruption of California government is appalling.
Gavin Newsom making it appear that he’s fighting for the people… blah, blah, blah.
Results are what people only care about – If Newsom doesn’t watch himself in the PG&E/Fire saga, he’ll end up like Gray Davis
Newsom is running his mouth about PG&E doing exactly what they said they were going to do. A plan that both Newsom and the PUC agreed to, and supported, over a year ago.
Never liked him as Lt. Gov, never liked him as SF mayor. If his best friend can’t trust him with his wife, how do we trust him to run this state?
Newsom the nuisance… keep voting like this folks and you will always get the same results…..
Just one more step to California taking over PG&E.