Plant’s New Set-Up Reflects PG&E’s Engagement with Humboldt County Leaders, Customers
In the Past, Local Customers Might Have Been Affected by a Nearby Public Safety Power Shutoff Even If Severe Weather Wasn’t Forecast Locally
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today announced the Humboldt Bay Generating Station (HBGS) can now provide power directly to customers, if needed, during emergencies, including Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events and other events outside Humboldt County that are impacting the county. This is part of the company’s continuing effort to reduce impacts on its customers during a PSPS event and other wide-spread power outages.
Known as “islanding,” the re-configuring of the plant will allow portions of Humboldt County to be separated from the larger grid and energized exclusively from HBGS when transmission sources that import, export and stabilize power to nearby areas are impacted. Areas that can be powered by the HBGS include 20 cities and towns such as Eureka, Arcata, McKinleyville and Fortuna as well as some tribal communities.
“This represents a significant milestone, not just in Humboldt County where customers will benefit directly, but for all of the customers in our service area who will benefit as we look for innovative solutions to reduce the impact of Public Safety Power Shutoffs,” said Andy Vesey, PG&E Utility CEO and President.
Depending on the situation, as many as 67,000 customers who might have lost power when areas outside Humboldt County face extreme weather conditions, will remain energized, due to PG&E’s changing of the plant’s set-up. The size of the energized area is scalable to the scope of the potential PSPS event and other conditions that could be impacting the grid at the time.
A team of approximately 70 people from the company’s Power Generation, Electric Operations, local Customer Care team and other departments worked over the past six months to make this happen. The most recent effort included a successful test of the system’s capabilities on May 9. PG&E will continue to fine-tune the system and make additional transmission upgrades to improve functionality in the coming months.
“Our residents and businesses endured hardships during safety shutoffs even when there wasn’t a wildfire threat in Humboldt County. PG&E leadership answered our calls to make sure they did everything they can to reduce impacts next time. We thank PG&E for its dedication to serving the county with safe and reliable power,” said Rex Bohn, First District Supervisor for Humboldt County.
Sheriff Billy Honsal of Humboldt County agrees reliable power is needed now more than ever.
“Especially during these difficult times when we are worried about everyone’s health and safety, we don’t need to worry about an event outside the county impacting our power right now,” Honsal said.
Vesey praised the partnership of Supervisor Bohn, Sheriff Honsal, St. Joseph’s Hospital, Eureka Chief Executive Dr. Roberta Luskin-Hawk and other community leaders.
“As soon as the last PSPS event of 2019 ended, we set a goal to complete direct local powering capabilities before this next wildfire season. The team worked on air permitting, design changes, and testing activities to reach this goal. Safety was at the forefront of everyone’s minds, especially during the pandemic. We thank the community for its support in helping us with this major achievement,” Vesey said.
The HBGS employs 17 full-time workers in Humboldt County and contributes more than $4 million a year in property taxes and local sales taxes to Humboldt County. Operating since 2010, the 163-megawatt power plant uses 10 reciprocating engines that run on natural gas, with diesel fuel as a backup.
It is important for all Humboldt County customers to prepare for power outages. If there is a wildfire threat within the islanded area, PG&E could shut off the power for safety in Humboldt County. The sole purpose of a PSPS is to reduce the risk of major wildfires during severe weather. In 2020, PG&E has pledged to make any PSPS events smaller in size, shorter in duration and smarter for customers. For more information about how you can prepare for emergencies and PSPS events, visit PG&E’s Safety Action Center at www.safetyactioncenter.pge.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes forward-looking statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the beliefs, expectations, estimates, future plans and strategies of PG&E Corporation and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (the “Utility”), including but not limited to statements regarding the size of the energized area during future PSPS events. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions, which management believes are reasonable, and on information currently available to management, but are necessarily subject to various risks and uncertainties. In addition to the risk that these assumptions prove to be inaccurate, factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements include factors disclosed in PG&E Corporation and the Utility’s joint Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, and their joint Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, and their subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. PG&E Corporation and the Utility undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether due to new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by law.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric energy companies in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 23,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit pge.com and pge.com/news.
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