More than 200 new weather stations have been installed by PG&E this year; six of those are in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
PG&E plans to have a total of 1,300 by the end of 2021. This will equip the company with one weather station for every 20-line miles of electric distribution circuits within Tier 2 and Tier 3 High Fire-Threat Districts, as designated by the California Public Utilities Commission.
Data captured by the weather stations such as temperature, wind speed and humidity levels help PG&E meteorologists evaluate where severe weather may be headed and inform utility operational planning. During a power shutoff, PG&E turns off specific power lines, based on severe weather conditions, for public safety and to prevent fires.
Seems like smoke detectors would have been a better choice.
Why don’t they use National Weather Service data? They need to concentrate on safe and cheap power generation and delivery. Fix it Newsom!
…. where?
Maybe clearing the areas around the power lines (can we bury or manufacture some type of shield for the lines) would be a bit more useful. Now, we will know what the temperature and wind speed is while the forests are burning….a rather pessimistic view, but “weather stations” do not seem to be a valuable tool, as weather is fairly predictable to begin with.
3rd rate increase this year after 3 last year. I thought they were only spending it on bonuses for the incompetent…
With as much money as I pay PG&E every month, I want one of those weather stations named after my family.