California utilities regulators to discuss planned power blackouts at public meeting in Santa Rosa

State utility regulators will meet this morning in Santa Rosa for a public discussion about standards to limit the impacts of emergency power shut-offs in extreme weather on seniors, the disabled and those who require life-support devices.

Under California law, investor-owned utilities such as Pacific Gas & Electric Co. have authority to deactivate their lines to reduce the threat of fire and other hazards. State regulators, however, intend to establish uniform criteria for evaluating procedures and improving outcomes for people who might be vulnerable in such planned outages.

The meeting comes a day after regulators endorsed work on new rules for planned outages tied to high-risk fire weather.

To craft the guidelines, the commission is seeking public comment, especially from those at risk of hardship. A series of planned outages in October drew complaints from frail residents and business owners who had to shut down during the blackouts.

The workshop is scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Lodge Room at Santa Rosa Veteran’s Memorial Building, at 1351 Maple Ave.

Remote access is available via WebEx: https://bit.ly/2KdtB61; meeting number, 710 613 992; password: Mitigation. A listen only call is also available at 1-877-820-7831, with access code: 479881.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin Fixler at 707-521-5336 or at kevin.fixler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @kfixler.