In the Fall of 2019, over 3 million people in Northern California faced a startling realization as PG&E’s Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) commenced, leaving homes completely powerless for days at a time. The PSPS program was designed to preemptively de-energize transmission lines considered “at risk for failure” by the heightened fire threat due to dry conditions and gusty winds. The October 2019 PSPS events were the worst suffered in California’s history, leaving over 940,000 PG&E customers without power for several days on two separate occasions. Homeowners with solar+storage systems, however, were able to overcome the PSPS events by generating and storing all the energy they needed for daily use – without any disruption of power – until the PSPS period came to a close. This presentation will provide testimonials of customers in California’s fire zones who were able to overcome the PSPS events with solar+storage.

Learning Objectives:

Discuss the necessity of power shutoffs in high fire threat areas, and the potential risks and consequences of sustained outages.
Understand ToU (Time of Use) electricity tariffs and how grid-tied battery backup systems can utilize peak-load shifting to save energy and money.
Compare and contrast the efficacy of home battery backup systems versus home generators, particularly during prolonged power shutoffs.
Discuss solar+storage solutions, and their benefits for the environment compared to other available systems.

Instructor: Aric Saunders

CEU's: 1 AIA, 1 BPI, 1 NAHB, 1 NARI, 1 RESNET, and 1 GENERAL