Winds Up? Power’s Down

Nearly every one of us has family or friends who lost homes in the wildfires. The scenes of devastation are heart-wrenching, with the number of structures lost running into the thousands. Investigations into the cause of the fires are ongoing as of this writing, but one culprit that always gets named early in the conversation is downed power lines.

Utility Liability and Shutdowns

In 2018, new legislation passed made utilities liable for damage from fires sparked by their equipment. But included in that legislation was a provision allowing the utilities to engage in “Public Safety Power Shutdowns.” This means Southern California Edison can pre-emptively cut power. They did just that, leaving over 400,000 Edison customers without power, sometimes for days.

Widespread Outages and Delays

Many of the shutdowns were in neighborhoods not at risk. Edison has explained that their grid doesn’t allow street-by-street power cuts. Sometimes large swathes must be de-energized if even a portion of their lines go through hills or brush. And once a neighborhood is down, Edison won’t re-energize unless every line and transformer is inspected to ensure everything is safe; hence the long delays in restoring electricity. The fires mean Edison will likely do two things; rejig the grid to reduce the disruption of planned shutdowns, but also rely even more heavily on such shutdowns to avoid future devastating wildfires.

The Challenges of Modern Outages

Living without electricity isn’t easy in this modern age. We depend on lighting, refrigeration, internet and phone access being powered 24/7. Fortunately, it’s possible to install backup generating power that kicks in automatically when Edison pulls the plug. These generators don’t send power into the grid, just into the home, so they don’t put current anywhere it can spark a fire. Critical infrastructure such as hospitals, police stations, cell towers and grocery stores have these systems installed as a matter of course. If you’d like your own backup generator, Air-Tro handles natural gas fired Generac systems. These are easily installed to kick in automatically when the grid fails and also shut down immediately once the grid is restored.

Backup Generators: A Smart Solution

If you’re interested in a Generac backup power system, don’t hesitate to call the energy experts at Air-Tro at (626) 357-3535. Keep your lights on safely regardless of wind or weather.