HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-6-2019 Speaker cards -redactedCity of Saratoga - Speaker Card
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In the 45 years that I have lived here, and the more than 70 that my wife's family has, there has
never been a preemptive turn off of power by PG&E. Until last month. And, that was
unnecessary. To my knowledge there has never been a fire here caused by a downed power line.
While there have been rare fires in the hills, there has never been a significant wildfire. But it's
obvious that PG&E doesn't recognize this and they will do it to us again whenever they decide
to.
We need to convince PG&E that they don't need to do this to us every time the wind blows. But
how? I propose that the city create a small task force made up of a council member, the city
manager, public works director and representatives of the local fire districts. The goal of this
task force will be to establish and foster a working relationship with the appropriate
representatives of PG&E to meet regularly and work to solve any issues related to fire danger and
power blackouts. This relationship will allow us to advocate for improvements to their
equipment, and to encourage them to consult with us before they order a power outage.
Last week during the shutdown a couple of power lines came down in Milpitas, and several
houses were burned. When asked why power hadn't been turned off there, PG&E stated that in
areas where minimal damage might occur they would not shut off power. They would only shut
off power in areas where they believed major conflagrations would occur.
I think we can convince them that Saratoga is not at risk of a major conflagration. And the more
that we work with them, the more that they will trust our judgement in this regard. The financial
cost to the city for this task force: Nothing. The alternative is to simply allow them to act
impulsively and without regard to our particular circumstances, in which case you can count on
hearing from angry constituents.