AT&T Comments on Southern California Edison's Public Safety Power Shutoff Post-Event Report

California's devastating wildfires in recent years have sparked a statewide effort to mitigate the risks of utility infrastructure. As a critical infrastructure provider, AT&T has submitted comments on Southern California Edison's (SCE) Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) post-event report for October 22, 2022. The report highlights the challenges faced by utilities in balancing public safety with the reliability of the electrical grid. AT&T's comments focus on SCE's scope changes, which they argue were overbroad and undefined, leading to unnecessary capital, time, and resource expenditures.

Key Takeaways:

• AT&T submitted comments on SCE's PSPS post-event report, focusing on the company's scope changes that were made during the October 22, 2022, PSPS event.
• SCE initially notified 19,179 customers across Inyo, Mono, and Tuolumne counties, but later added Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties, almost doubling the number of potentially impacted customers to 37,880.
• AT&T emphasizes the importance of accurate scoping data, which they argue is essential for timely and accurate notifications to customers and for protecting AT&T's network from potential network impact.
• Overbroad and undefined scoping information led AT&T to expend unnecessary capital, time, and resources, which they attribute to SCE's failure to improve its weather forecasting.
• AT&T has worked closely with SCE and other energy companies to improve de-energization processes and is prepared to continue this collaboration to ensure public safety and grid reliability.

Statistics:

• 19,179: The initial number of customers notified by SCE on October 19, 2022.
• 37,880: The total number of potentially impacted customers after adding Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties.
• 4 x 4: The number of counties added to the scope, almost doubling the number of potentially impacted customers.
• 1: The key area AT&T focused on in their comments, namely, SCE's scope changes.

Sources:

• [Comments]: BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA Order Instituting Rulemaking to Examine Electric Utility De-Energization of Power Lines in Dangerous Conditions. R.18-12-005 (Filed December 13, 2018).
• [Comments]: Comments of AT&T on Southern California Edison Company's (U 338-E) Public Safety Power Shutoff Post-Event Report for October 22, 2022 High-Threat Event ( Filed November 22, 2022).