(KCBS Radio) – California is adopting nearly two dozen new laws aimed at preventing and fighting the wildfires that have devastated the state in recent years.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed 22 wildfire-related bills Wednesday, which he says build on the state’s $1 billion budget devoted to emergency preparation.
That includes SB-167 from Napa State Senator Bill Dodd, which enacts new regulations on PG&E’s power safety shutoff program.
“The last thing we want to do is to have a situation where we’re here with these power shutoffs, we’re trying to save lives, save property, and to have somebody get hurt or perhaps die because of not having the power they need,” says Dodd.
The law requires PG&E to submit its fire mitigation plans to the California Public Utility Commission’s new Wildfire Safety Division, including proposals to reduce the impact of safety shutoffs on the public.
PG&E will be required to propose ways to notify and assist customers who rely on electricity to power life-saving medical devices and low-income customers who cannot afford backup power sources.
Dodd says he wants to ensure that PG&E will take care of people who are medically fragile, “either through the cooling centers that they have… or providing alternative sources of power, whether it’s a generator or making sure that they have the type of equipment that will work.”
PG&E should already know who these customers are through the utility’s programs for “medical baseline” customers, says Dodd. That should make it easy for the utility to contact these customers ahead of any planned shutoffs, but some people have fallen through the cracks.
“I would suggest that for people that weren’t contacted [in previous shutoffs>, that they get ahold of PG&E and make sure that they’re on the list,” says Dodd.
PG&E has utilized its power safety shutoff program several times this year during conditions of high wildfire danger. And while this year has been relatively mild, Dodd says Californians need to stay on high alert.
“We can’t let our guard down because climate change is here. We’re getting 80, 90 mile an hour winds and low, low humidity and high temperatures which are just ripe for these major wildfires,” says Dodd. “The reality is that much more needs to be done.”