Power outage

Access to electrical power during outages is an equity issue for low-income California residents, especially those with children who rely on medical ...

The limited program that utility companies have in place proves they can identify customers who have a medical need for backup power and build a distribution network to get them the devices. When the power grid fails, it’s an inconvenience for most people, but a matter of life and death for disabled California residents who depend on medical devices that need to be plugged in. For people who depend on electricity-powered medical devices to live, any power outage is an emergency. Access to electrical power during outages is an equity issue for low-income California residents. But on this occasion, for the first time, I had access to a portable power station. It’s only open to disabled PG&E customers who live in high-fire-threat areas subject to Public Safety Power Shutoff, a particular type of planned power outage intended to reduce the risk of wildfires.