Summer Preparedness and
Wildfire Mitigation
7/28/2022
1 Katelyn Hailey
Regional Public
Affairs Manager
Shaun Gahagan
Wildfire Mitigation
Program Manager
Summer Reliability and Education
3 Summer Reliability
• The state has added thousands of MWs against a challenging backdrop including the pandemic, lofty targets and a focus on clean resources. • While we are moving in the right direction for the longer term with the addition of new resources to the grid, a third year of significantly lower-than-normal hydro conditions and the projected increased possibility of extreme weather events in the West leaves the grid in an elevated state of risk for this summer.
• Individuals interested in real-time data can go to California ISO - Today's Outlook (caiso.com) to get information on grid status, current demand, etc. (see example):
4 • SDG&E is working to help customers avoid higher-than-anticipated energy bills this summer.
− Current forecasts project another hotter-than-average August and September − Natural gas prices remain high across the country due to a number of national and international issues.
− Both will impact monthly bills as customers turn up the A/C to stay cool and could extend into winter/heating months.
• Customers will receive a letter or email from SDG&E in early August with information and education on how to manage their energy use and sign up for programs.
Summer Bill Education & Assistance
Create an energy saving action
plan on My Account
Shift to save: Use energy
outside of peak hours 4-9pm
Enroll in Power Saver Rewards,
get paid to save energy
Check your A/C filter and clean
clothes dryer vents and lint
filters regularly
Enroll available assistance
programs for eligible customers
More information on programs
and resources can be found at
www.sdge.com/myenergy
Wildfire Mitigation
6 SDG&E Committed to Risk Reduction
Reducing wildfire risk & PSPS impacts through:
• Advanced risk modeling & situational awareness
leveraging artificial intelligence
• Continued grid hardening by increasing strategic
undergrounding & covered conductor to achieve further
reductions on distribution fault rate
• Increased customer support by expanding AFN
support services & leveraging renewable resources
• Ongoing preparation through EOC exercises, community
outreach, public education & public safety partnerships Wildfire Mitigation Plan
Progress
45%
Reduced fault rate
on the distribution
system
84%
Reduced fault rate
on the transmission
system
100%
of HFTD
drone inspections
completed in 2022
100%
Ignition reduction
when sensitive relay
settings enabled
100%
Ignition reduction
from fuses
in HFTD
12,500
Trees per year
with enhanced
vegetation clearance
6 7
Augmented and diverse communications tools used to inform customers before and during PSPS events Before Event
Year-long public education campaign • TV, Radio, streaming radio, social media, digital, print PSAs • Online Influencers • Wildfire Safety Fairs & In-community events • In-community newsletters, newspapers, community social media pages • Community bulletins/posters, Community Stores, Supermarkets, Laundromats, Barber Shops • Airport, train and bus depots video monitor messaging • Athletic Events- stadium ads • Increased media and journalist education effort • Message amplification by CBOs & partners • Public education in-language & accessible communications • Simplified PSPS & Wildfire Safety webpages • Power outage & preparedness videos • Multiple customer & CBO surveys & research • Dedicated Spanish communications team
During Event
Leverage 20+ diverse communications platforms • Hyper-local targeting via Nextdoor • Media & journalist outreach • PSPS mobile app & radio PSAs • In-community & roadside signage & flyer distribution • Message amplification by CBOs & partners • Customer notification refinement to accommodate in-language & AFN customers
Public Awareness & Communications
8 PSPS Website Overview
Key Features and Content
• Address lookup tool • Customers can input their address and see if they are at risk, de-energized, patrolling or re-energized.
• Map with affected areas (heat map technology; AFN) • Customers and communities at risk and shut off • Updated in real-time as customers are de- and re -energized
• Community Resource Centers (CRCs) • CRC look-up (customers input their address to find closest CRCs) • Addresses, amenities, hours and more information. • AFN resources, landing page and personalized experience. 2022 Enhancements and Outlook
• Accessibility: Partnered with Center for Accessible Technology (C4AT) to build best-in-class accessible website and mobile app; implemented AudioEye tool. • Utilized customer feedback from 2021 event, e.g. adding Google map links to CRCs and font size for customers affected.
• Improved mobile experience, better layout elements, font sizing. • Website is built on Amazon Web Service’s (AWS) cloud infrastructure. • Web servers auto-scale based on traffic and bandwidth needs increase. • Utilizes a Content Delivery Network (CDN) and Web Application Firewalll (WAF) to ensure stability and performance (“Black Friday” performance) • Coded “lite” to help low-bandwidth customers