The California Public Utilities Fee is transferring ahead with a plan to implement frequent security evaluations for the state’s main utility corporations as a part of a broader effort to stop wildfires and gasoline leaks.
Each 4 years, an unbiased evaluator will conduct a complete evaluation of the protection tradition and practices used at PG&E, which can even be mandated to offer annual self-evaluations to observe enchancment.
Security tradition refers back to the set of collective values, rules and practices that a company shares with respect to threat and security, mentioned CPUC commissioner Darcie Houck.
PG&E is the biggest electrical and gasoline utility service for Northern and Central California. Different main utility corporations that serve the southern finish of the state, together with San Diego Fuel and Electrical Firm, Southern California Edison Firm, and Southern California Fuel Firm, can even be topic to the identical necessities.
The utility corporations will probably be evaluated for demonstrating a dedication to security of their selections, figuring out and promptly addressing potential security dangers, and fostering an surroundings the place security issues may be raised with out worry of retaliation.
A decade of disasters
The choice to implement strong and frequent security tradition assessments arose following a number of catastrophic occasions attributable to defective utility infrastructure that occurred all through the state within the final decade.
In 2010, a faulty pipe put in by PG&E exploded in San Bruno and prompted a hearth, killing eight. PG&E has additionally been blamed for beginning a number of devastating wildfires since 2017 in Northern California because of growing old energy traces.
In consequence, a number of legislative and commission-led efforts have been enacted to implement the requirement that utility corporations meet security rules. In 2018, Senate Invoice 901 was signed into state legislation that requires utility corporations to develop plans to mitigate wildfire threat.
FILE: A Douglas fir leans in opposition to PG&E energy traces on July 18, 2021, close to the origin of the Dixie Hearth within the Feather River Canyon close to Cresta Dam. PG&E was later discovered responsible for beginning the blaze that burned greater than 960,000 acres and destroyed greater than 1,300 constructions. (PG&E through Bay Metropolis Information)
“Since the 2017 and 2018 wildfires that deeply impacted our state, California has worked extensively to reduce utility-involved wildfires and to create a framework that anticipates, as well as anyone can, the complex nature of wildfire risks and impacts,” CPUC president Alice Reynolds mentioned through the fee’s Thursday assembly.
The legislation additionally fees the fee to carry utility corporations accountable for security prioritization through common assessments into security tradition.
A fiery warning
The continuing Palisades and Eaton fires ravaging by means of the Los Angeles space are a stark reminder of the required precautions that utility corporations should take to scale back the chance of sparking fires. The causes of those wildfires have but to be confirmed.
“The events unfolding in Southern California are tragic, unprecedented and life-changing for many residents in the Los Angeles area,” Reynolds mentioned. “As we can see now, measures taken to prevent wildfires are more critical than ever.”
The implementation of security tradition evaluations is a complement to the required Wildfire Mitigation Plans, or WMPs, that main utility corporations like PG&E should adhere to. The CPUC additionally accepted the WMP for PG&E on Thursday that features hardening infrastructure and eradicating hazardous vegetation round energy traces.
“This decision begins an important process to develop the utilities’ safety culture,” mentioned CPUC commissioner John Reynolds. “Wildfire and gas safety have tangibly impacted Californians’ lives and will continue to do so. Utilities safety culture benefits all Californians. There is no endpoint for safety culture, only continuous improvement.”
