Officials with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) are set to host a public hearing Tuesday morning on the implementation of Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) by  Southern California Edison (SCE).

On Tuesday, Jan. 26, CPUC officials are expected to host a public hearing on the practice of implementing PSPS, with several officials ranging from the local to federal level scheduled to attend.

Assemblywoman Suzette Valladares, R-Santa Clarita, released a statement of support on Friday to communities heavily affected by SCE’s practice of PSPS.

“The problems are almost too numerous to list,” Valladares said. “[Many] families are working or studying from home during the pandemic, families who rely on well water need to power their pumps, medical devices require energy to operate, some life-saving medicines require cool storage, food spoils without refrigeration, and traffic intersections become unsafe without functioning traffic lights, just to name a few of the concerns I’ve heard.”

Valladares addressed the issue head on, stating that her own family had to deal with the effects of the PSPS in and around the Santa Clarita Valley. 

She added that she has heard from hundreds of Santa Clarita constituents regarding their issues with SCE shutoffs. 

These feelings seemed similar to those of State Senator Henry Stern, D- Canoga Park, who last week went further with his response to the SCE, calling its actions  “tactless” and “deficient in meeting the standard its customers deserve.”

See Related: Local Representatives Call For Better SCE Practices In Aftermath Of Widespread Power Outages

“The CPUC and Edison have both dragged their heels when it comes to removing roadblocks to linking more distributed generation assets and building microgrids for these vulnerable communities,” Stern said in a statement Tuesday. “SB 1339 became law 2+ years ago, but Edison has yet to jump to embrace this new reality and the CPUC’s recent proposed rulemaking on microgrids have not pushed the utility.”

Supervisor Kathryn Barger echoed Stern’s concerns, noting that PSPS can impact nearly 50,000 households in the San Gabriel, Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys. With the various health officer orders that have closed schools and forced more individuals to work from home, the devastating impacts of power loss are significant to these community members, officials said.

“This hearing is an important first step to hold Edison accountable to its customers and communities and to fix what is clearly a broken system tied to Public Safety Power Shutoffs,” said Barger. “Although we understand that Southern California Edison must balance very real concerns about public safety and impending fire danger when they decide to implement a PSPS event, we believe there is a better way to communicate and mitigate these outages. We look forward to working with the CPUC, Edison, and all of the stakeholders involved, including our impacted community members, to make sure any future PSPS events are as painless as possible.”

Additionally, Congressman Mike Garica, R-Santa Clarita, is reportedly planning on attending the hearing as well, according to Molly Jenkins, Garica’s communications director.

The public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 2 p.m. Community members may tune in here and can call in for public comment at 800-857-1917, passcode: 5180519#. 

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