Update, Oct. 23: PG&E has announced that it is proceeding with a power shutoff expected to affect approximately 179,000 customers in 17 counties.
Some senior living operators in California are preparing for another potential planned power outage that could come late Wednesday evening, last several days and affect parts of 15 counties.
Most of the affected counties are in the Sierra foothills and the San Francisco Bay area.
Monday, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said it had begun 48-hour advance notifications to customers that it may proactively turn power off due to windy conditions that could result in “catastrophic wildfire ignitions.” Approximately 209,000 customers — households and businesses — could be affected, said the company, which will make a final decision about the outage by mid-day Wednesday.
State investigators have blamed the power company for last year’s Camp Fire, which affected senior living communities and resulted in 85 deaths, and many fires in 2017, the Sacramento Bee reported.
Several senior living communities were among 738,000 households and businesses — about 1.5 million total people — that were affected when PG&E shut off power earlier this month to portions of 35 counties, according to media reports.
Eight Brookdale Senior Living communities were in the target area last time, for instance, and some of them ultimately were affected when the power was turned off. The communities were prepared with portable generators and extra supplies, food and staff members, a spokeswoman told McKnight’s Senior Living at the time.
Some local officials, in a regulatory filing, said that by the end of the outage, some assisted living communities were approaching the limits of their backup power, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
In response to complaints about the power company’s handling of the most recent outage, PG&E said in a press release that it had improved its ability to handle a higher volume of online and telephone inquiries and is working to better coordinate with government agencies.
“On Wednesday, community resource centers will be opened across the affected areas to provide restrooms, bottled water, electronic-device charging and air-conditioned seating,” the company said in the release. “The centers will be accessible to customers with functional needs and will be staffed from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. until the areas are fully restored to power.”
All customers, including those with special medical needs, will be affected if the power is shut off, PG&E said, noting in an online post that “[e]mergency facilities such as hospitals and fire and police stations typically use generators to remain open.”
At a Monday press conference, PG&E Chief Customer Officer Laurie Giammona said the company was trying to help assisted living residents and older adults in general who would be affected if there is a shutoff.
“We’re going to be coordinating with the county agencies to provide support for transit for customers, hotels or batteries, if necessary,” she said, according to the Sacramento Bee. The power company has been working with the governor’s Office of Emergency Services and the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers, which serves people with disabilities, “sending emails out to customers asking what support they need,” Giammona added.
