Humboldt Bay Generating Station Ready to Serve as a Direct Local Power Source During Emergencies, Reducing Impact of PSPS Eve...
June 12 2020 - 5:05PM
Business Wire
Plant’s New Set-Up Reflects PG&E’s
Engagement with Humboldt County Leaders, Customers
In the Past, Local Customers Might Have Been
Affected by a Nearby Public Safety Power Shutoff Even If Severe
Weather Wasn’t Forecast Locally
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today announced the
Humboldt Bay Generating Station (HBGS) can now provide power
directly to customers, if needed, during emergencies, including
Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events and other events outside
Humboldt County that are impacting the county. This is part of the
company’s continuing effort to reduce impacts on its customers
during a PSPS event and other wide-spread power outages.
Known as “islanding,” the re-configuring of the plant will allow
portions of Humboldt County to be separated from the larger grid
and energized exclusively from HBGS when transmission sources that
import, export and stabilize power to nearby areas are impacted.
Areas that can be powered by the HBGS include 20 cities and towns
such as Eureka, Arcata, McKinleyville and Fortuna as well as some
tribal communities.
“This represents a significant milestone, not just in Humboldt
County where customers will benefit directly, but for all of the
customers in our service area who will benefit as we look for
innovative solutions to reduce the impact of Public Safety Power
Shutoffs,” said Andy Vesey, PG&E Utility CEO and President.
Depending on the situation, as many as 67,000 customers who
might have lost power when areas outside Humboldt County face
extreme weather conditions, will remain energized, due to
PG&E’s changing of the plant’s set-up. The size of the
energized area is scalable to the scope of the potential PSPS event
and other conditions that could be impacting the grid at the
time.
A team of approximately 70 people from the company’s Power
Generation, Electric Operations, local Customer Care team and other
departments worked over the past six months to make this happen.
The most recent effort included a successful test of the system’s
capabilities on May 9. PG&E will continue to fine-tune the
system and make additional transmission upgrades to improve
functionality in the coming months.
“Our residents and businesses endured hardships during safety
shutoffs even when there wasn’t a wildfire threat in Humboldt
County. PG&E leadership answered our calls to make sure they
did everything they can to reduce impacts next time. We thank
PG&E for its dedication to serving the county with safe and
reliable power,” said Rex Bohn, First District Supervisor for
Humboldt County.
Sheriff Billy Honsal of Humboldt County agrees reliable power is
needed now more than ever.
“Especially during these difficult times when we are worried
about everyone’s health and safety, we don’t need to worry about an
event outside the county impacting our power right now,” Honsal
said.
Vesey praised the partnership of Supervisor Bohn, Sheriff
Honsal, St. Joseph’s Hospital, Eureka Chief Executive Dr. Roberta
Luskin-Hawk and other community leaders.
“As soon as the last PSPS event of 2019 ended, we set a goal to
complete direct local powering capabilities before this next
wildfire season. The team worked on air permitting, design changes,
and testing activities to reach this goal. Safety was at the
forefront of everyone’s minds, especially during the pandemic. We
thank the community for its support in helping us with this major
achievement,” Vesey said.
The HBGS employs 17 full-time workers in Humboldt County and
contributes more than $4 million a year in property taxes and local
sales taxes to Humboldt County. Operating since 2010, the
163-megawatt power plant uses 10 reciprocating engines that run on
natural gas, with diesel fuel as a backup.
It is important for all Humboldt County customers to prepare for
power outages. If there is a wildfire threat within the islanded
area, PG&E could shut off the power for safety in Humboldt
County. The sole purpose of a PSPS is to reduce the risk of major
wildfires during severe weather. In 2020, PG&E has pledged to
make any PSPS events smaller in size, shorter in duration and
smarter for customers. For more information about how you can
prepare for emergencies and PSPS events, visit PG&E’s Safety
Action Center at www.safetyactioncenter.pge.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes forward-looking statements that are
not historical facts, including statements about the beliefs,
expectations, estimates, future plans and strategies of PG&E
Corporation and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (the “Utility”),
including but not limited to statements regarding the size of the
energized area during future PSPS events. These statements are
based on current expectations and assumptions, which management
believes are reasonable, and on information currently available to
management, but are necessarily subject to various risks and
uncertainties. In addition to the risk that these assumptions prove
to be inaccurate, factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking
statements include factors disclosed in PG&E Corporation and
the Utility’s joint Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2019, and their joint Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, and their subsequent reports
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. PG&E
Corporation and the Utility undertake no obligation to publicly
update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether due to new
information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent
required by law.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E
Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas
and electric energy companies in the United States. Based in San
Francisco, with more than 23,000 employees, the company delivers
some of the nation's cleanest energy to 16 million people in
Northern and Central California. For more information, visit
pge.com and pge.com/news.
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