EPSS Technology, Rolled Out in 2021, Continues to Significantly Reduce Ignitions That Can Lead to Catastrophic Wildfires
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) said today that its Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings (EPSS) now protect approximately 3 million people, or more than 1 million customers, who live in high fire-risk areas within the company’s service area.
The safety settings turn off power within one-tenth of a second when a fault, such as a tree limb coming into contact with a powerline, is detected. Last year, on 170 circuits with safety settings enabled, there was an 80% reduction in CPUC-reportable ignitions in High Fire Threat Districts that could result in a wildfire, compared to the prior three-year average.
Based on EPSS’s success in 2021 as a proven wildfire prevention technology, PG&E has expanded the program to more than 1,000 circuits encompassing more than 25,000 distribution line miles in high fire-risk areas this year as well as approximately 18,000 line miles in adjacent portions of the system.
Through June 1, the positive results in 2022 mirror those in 2021, as there has been an 82% reduction in CPUC-reportable ignitions that could result in a wildfire compared to the three-year average (2018-2020).
PG&E expects that the safety settings will remain enabled on 700 to 800 of those circuits between now and the end of the wildfire season. For customers on the other approximately 200 circuits, the technology will be enabled on days when there is a Red Flag Warning and disabled when weather conditions, such as heavy coastal fog, are favorable.
Although these enhanced safety settings help keep our customers safe and prevent wildfires, they can also result in outages. Recognizing how difficult it is to be without power, PG&E is taking steps to reduce the burden of outages on customers and communities.
“When we stop ignitions, we stop wildfires,” said Mark Quinlan, the company’s vice president of transmission & distribution operations. “Rest assured that we work every day to prevent outages and to expedite restoration if they do happen.”
Some of the steps PG&E is taking to reduce outages include:
- Conducting reliability and operational improvements to minimize customer impacts from outages on safety setting-enabled lines
- Pruning and removing vegetation in targeted locations to improve reliability
PG&E offers a new tool on its website, where customers can input their address and see if the safety settings are currently enabled on the circuit serving their home or business. It’s available at www.pge.com/outages.
When an outage occurs on an EPSS-enabled circuit, PG&E crews patrol the lines to check for damage or hazards. Patrols are done by helicopter, truck or on foot during daylight hours. In some instances, nighttime patrols are possible. So far this year, circuits enabled with EPSS have experienced 205 outages, with the average restoration time being about 3.5 hours, a nearly 50% improvement in outage duration compared to last year.
For customers who are served by EPSS-enabled circuits, PG&E has resources available to help prepare for outages and stay safe, including the:
- Generator Rebate Program for customers who rely on well water, customers in our Medical Baseline Program and certain small businesses. For 2022, we have expanded funding and eligibility.
- Portable Battery Program for eligible customers in our Medical Baseline Program who live in high fire-threat areas or have experienced two or more Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) outages since 2020. For 2022, we have removed the low-income requirement.
- Expansion of the Backup Power Transfer Meter offering to all customers on EPSS-capable circuits, making it easier and safer for customers to connect a generator.
The enhanced safety settings are just one component of PG&E’s comprehensive Community Wildfire Safety Program, which includes putting 10,000 miles of powerlines underground, creating microgrids to keep key community facilities energized during outages and an ever-growing number of situational awareness tools such as weather stations and high-definition cameras. Information can be found at www.pge.com/wildfiresafety.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than 16 million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit pge.com and pge.com/news.
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