Santa Barbara County Grand Jury • 2020-2021 • Agency Response
Response to: PUBLIC ALERTS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY POWER SHUTOFFS AND EMERGENCIES

Das Williams First District Board of Supervisors Gregg Hart County Administration Building Second District, Chair*

Published: September 01, 2020 6 pages
View Original PDF

Findings and Recommendations 4 findings

F2
Residents who depend on electricity for vital medical devices or to keep medications refrigerated may not receive the PSPS or emergency notifications intended for them. The Board of Supervisors agrees with the finding. All residents who depend on electricity for critical medical equipment or needs are encouraged to register for their power utilities Medical Baseline or equivalent program, which includes additional notifications for PSPS events. SCE: https://www.sce.com/residential/assistance/medical-baseline PG&E: https://www.pge.com/en_US/residential/save-energy-money/help-paying-your-bill/longer-term- assistance/medical-condition-related/medical-baseline-allowance/medical-baseline- allowance.page?WT.mc id=Vanity medicalbaseline Attachment A
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors direct and fund the Office of Emergency Management and the Department of Public Health to identify individuals dependent on electricity for essential medical needs. This recommendation has been implemented. There are several different programs or offices that work together in emergencies and PSPS events to identify those individuals who may be more vulnerable to an event and more specifically a PSPS event. The County Public Health Department works with various local, state and federal social services and public health-based programs to identify those who may be vulnerable in a disaster. Additionally, the Tri-Counties Independent Living Resource Center (ILRC), who works with access and functional needs individuals, as well as Seniors, has started to facilitate a data base of their clients who may need additional assistance in a disaster or PSPS event. The OEM is coordinating with ILRC on how the County can support their efforts. PG&E has created a new online database and resource center for emergency planning and response coordination, in which County OEM has access to a list of those individuals who have registered for their medical baseline program. SCE will provide their medical baseline and critical care customer lists to OEM at the time of an event.
F3
Residents who depend on electricity for essential medical devices, keeping medications refrigerated, or other vital needs may not be able to carry out the PSPS or emergency recommendations intended for them. The Board of Supervisors agrees with this finding. It is recommended that residents dependent on electricity for medical purposes should take extra steps to prepare in advance for an emergency or potential PSPS event. Some of those recommendations can be found at the following websites: • ReadySBC: https://readysbc.org/psps/ • ILRC: <a href="https://www.ilrc-trico.org/psps/">https://www.ilrc-trico.org/psps/</a> Additionally, both Utilities have implemented some rebate programs that may assist individuals in purchasing some backup power options for PSPS events. • SCE (All rebates): <a href="https://www.sce.com/residential/rebates-savings/rebates">https://www.sce.com/residential/rebates-savings/rebates</a> SCE (Power-Specific Rebates): https://marketplace.sce.com/portable-power-stations/ • PG&E Home Rebate Program and Application: https://www.pge.com/en_US/residential/save- . energy-money/savings-solutions-and-rebates/how-to-apply/how-to-apply.page PG&E Business Rebate Program and Catalogs: <a href="https://www.pge.com/en_US/small-medium-">https://www.pge.com/en_US/small-medium-</a> business/save-energy-and-money/rebates-and-incentives/product-rebates.page
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors direct and fund the Office of Emergency Management and the Department of Public Health to ensure the access of individuals dependent on electricity for survival to the supplies and locations recommended for them on County websites. This recommendation will be implemented. The OEM is working with ILRC and the Public Health Department on how to support ILRC in the distribution of those resources during an actual event. It is important to note, that if a large PSPS event were to occur there are only limited supplies available for Attachment A distribution. The completion of this recommendation is dependent on developing a reliable source of appropriate supplies. In regards to PSPS community support facilities provided by the utilities during an actual event, both utilities are working to identify facilities to support residents during a PSPS event, as well as the modifications needed to these facilities or their operational plans to account for the current COVID environment. This is an on-going coordination effort with the utilities, PHD, local agencies and OEM.
F4
Santa Barbara County's emergency information and advice for the public is scattered over several websites, which are not coordinated, infrequently updated, sometimes confusing, and may not link to each other. The Board of Supervisors disagree partially with the finding. All general information related to PSPS and emergency planning, as well as actual events, can be found at www.ReadySBC.org as a one-stop website. The Board acknowledges that some gaps in information were identified last year regarding the types and depth of information individuals may need to support their individual preparedness and response to PSPS. The OEM took a proactive approach to any gaps identified and made improvements to the website throughout the PSPS season. Additionally, it is recognized that ReadySBC was initially developed to support the community's recovery from the Thomas Fire and the 1-9 Debris Flow, and that it is time to transition the website to a more comprehensive planning, response and recovery tool. This transition continues to occur with improvements being made for both COVID-19 recovery information, as well as overall all-hazard information improvements to layout, content and accessibility. It is important to note, that there are several other County Departments that have a direct emergency response mission (Public Health Department, Sheriff's Office, Fire Department, Flood Control Division, etc.) and therefore information on their website. The OEM continues to work with partner departments and agencies to standardize information across websites and to ensure current links and information is shared regularly.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors direct and fund the Office of Emergency Management to ensure that all County websites providing emergency information are coordinated, easy to understand and navigate, regularly updated, and use clear links to each other to make all information readily accessible. This recommendation will be implemented. As noted above, many improvements to the www.ReadySBC.org website have already occurred. Additionally, the OEM will be utilizing some California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) PSPS grant funds to develop additional improvements to website and community education information, resources and accessibility. Lastly, General Services is facilitating an update of all county websites. The OEM is participating in this update effort and will leverage this opportunity to facilitate emergency information updates and standardization of language and links across multiple departments. Attachment A
F5
PSPS decisions are made entirely by the power companies without input from public agencies and elected officials until after the shutdown ends, via the California Public Utilities Commission. The Board of Supervisors disagree partially with the finding. Power utilities can and often unilaterally determine whether to initiate a PSPS event and to shut off power. The CPUC ruled that the power utilities must take into consideration input and concerns of local first responders and emergency management, which they have done to let us know that a PSPS may be occurring.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors publicly urge the State of California legislature to require local governmental input into PSPS decisions before they are announced and carried out. This recommendation has been implemented. The OEM in conjunction with County Counsel's office works with the CPUC on their rule making process on an ongoing basis, to promote better coordination with local government. Although the Utilities are not required to agree or follow local emergency responder recommendations, the utilities are more open to information sharing, coordination and advance planning for events then they have been in the past. Attachment A

* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.