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PG&E recently announced it is launching an improved emergency website and customer notification for Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) this wildfire season after difficulties during the initial rollout last year.
The updates come after last October when PG&E’s website was unavailable due to the system being overwhelmed with visits. According to the utility company, the new website will load quicker, being tested six times the peak traffic of 2019’s PSPS events.
“We asked our customers and stakeholders what are the most important things that they need to hear from us during an emergency. We are listening to our customers and acting on what we hear,” Laurie Giammona, PG&E’s senior vice president and chief customer officer, said in a statement.
For example, when PG&E calls a PSPS due to foreseeable wildfire conditions, PG&E customers will be directed to a “Safety and Alert Center” website that will provide information before shutoffs. Specifically, the new emergency website will be designed as a mobile-first to accommodate mobile experiences.
The site will be cloud-based to improve scalability for high traffic levels, according to the company. Alongside that, the website will be available in 13 languages total. Currently, it is only available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Korean and Russian, but PG&E will be adding Farsi, Arabic, Hmong, Khmer, Punjabi and Japanese next month.
PG&E said it will also be upgrading maps for 2020 to provide more precise and accurate details. The addresses from last year will be redesigned to offer a text based “no map” with current and future views of power outages. A newer address lookup tool will as well be implemented to help those to get information faster.
PG&E said its PSPS will be done as a last resort when the most extreme fire danger conditions are forecast. The following criteria, according to PG&E, will determine if power should be shut off for safety:
* A red flag warning sent by the National Weather Service.
* Low humidity levels that are 20% or below.
* Forecast winds that are above 25 mph along with excessive wind gusts that are approximately 45 mph
* The condition of dry fuel on the ground and live vegetation.
* Real-time observation from PG&E’s Wildfire Safety Operations Center and observations from PG&E field crews.
Notifications will also be improved, according to PG&E. Text or email messages will come two days prior, the day before, or just before power turns off. Future notifications will show the date of the shutoff and the addresses that will be affected by shutoff and restoration times. After the shutoff, daily updates will also be provided until power is restored. To learn more, visit www.pge.com/pspsupdates.
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