02 Staff Report.PSPS Annex
PREPARED BY: Arn Andrews Hannah Tarling
Assistant Town Manager Emergency Services Coordinator
Reviewed by: Town Manager and Town Attorney
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● (408) 354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: 10/06/2020
ITEM NO: 2
DATE: September 10, 2020
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Laurel Prevetti, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Adopt Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) Annex to the Town Emergency
Operation Plan (EOP)
RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) Annex to the Town Emergency Operation Plan (EOP).
BACKGROUND:
Over the past decade, wildfires in California have grown more numerous, destructive, and
deadly, and the threat of wildfires extends for a longer period during the year. In response, the
California Public Utilities Code gives electric utilities such as Pacific Gas and Electric Company
(PG&E) authority to de-energize or shut off electric facilities proactively during dangerous
conditions to prevent wildfires and to protect lives and property. The purpose of proactive de-
energization or Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) is to promote public safety by decreasing
the risk of utility-infrastructure as a source of wildfire ignitions.
Following the deadly wildfire seasons experienced by the state in 2017 and 2018, the California
Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued a resolution and rulemaking governing the steps
PG&E and other electrical investor-owned utilities must follow in implementing a PSPS. Last
year the Town experienced its first PSPS event on October 9, 2020, followed by a second PSPS
event on October 26, 2020. In addition, the Town was under a PSPS threat warning on October
29, 2020, and November 20,2020.
Based on those experiences, the Town of Los Gatos has prepared this Public Safety Power
Shutoff (PSPS) Annex. As a supplement to the Town of Los Gatos Emergency Operations Plan
(EOP), this Annex assigns tasks, specifies policies and general procedures, and provides for
coordination of response and recovery activities in a PSPS event. The Annex will be reviewed
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SUBJECT: Adopt PSPS Annex to the Town EOP
DATE: September 10, 2020
and exercised periodically and will be revised as necessary to satisfy changing conditions and
needs.
DISCUSSION:
The proposed PSPS Annex is intended to provide guidance to the Town of Los Gatos in
preparing for and responding to a PSPS by PG&E. The draft Annex was developed using the
Santa Clara County Office of Emergency Management PSPS Annex as a template which follows
the Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS), the National Incident Management
System (NIMS), and the Incident Command System (ICS). The template was designed to create
consistency in emergency response among the operational area jurisdictions.
At the County level, its Annex was developed in collaboration with partners and stakeholders
throughout the Operational Area (OA). This collaborative effort included participating in and
holding workshops with representatives of County Departments, agencies, and special districts;
local government jurisdictions; and external partners.
Through the preparation of the Town’s PSPS Annex, relevant partners, Departments, and
specific Town employees were consulted, including Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police and Parks
and Public Works Departments, and the Town Manager’s Office. Specific staff involvement
included the Town’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Public Information Officer (PIO),
Assistant Town Manager, and Emergency Services Coordinator.
The PSPS Annex is, first and foremost, an operational plan intended for use by Town personnel
who are coordinating or managing a PSPS event. Accordingly, the Annex is organized in a
manner that allows Town and EOC personnel to quickly find the information they need to
successfully handle a PSPS event. The Annex is divided into four primary sections with
additional sections devoted to public information and addressing the needs of individuals with
disabilities, access, and functional needs. Following is a brief description of the four primary
sections:
• The Introduction in Section 1 includes discussion of the Annex’s purpose and scope, the
situation requiring creation of the Annex, overarching Annex objectives, and the
assumptions used in developing the plan.
• PG&E Power Shutoff Process is described in Section 2. This section includes information
available at this time regarding the California Public Utilities Commission’s Guidelines
governing PSPS, PG&E’s shutoff determination factors, and information regarding PG&E’s
PSPS notification and community outreach efforts.
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SUBJECT: Adopt PSPS Annex to the Town EOP
DATE: September 10, 2020
• The Concept of Operations (ConOps) in Section 3 of the Annex guides users through
incident coordination and the operational activity phases.
• The Critical Action Guide in Section 4 summarizes the Annex and acts as a finding tool
for information in other parts of the Annex that assists personnel in event coordination
and management.
CONCLUSION:
Adoption of the Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) Annex to the Town Emergency Operation
Plan (EOP) is consistent with emergency management best practices and ensures consistency
among operational area jurisdictions.
COORDINATION:
This staff report has been coordinated with the Town Manager/Director of Emergency Services,
Chief of Police/Assistant Director of Emergency Services, and Town Attorney.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No fiscal impact.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
This is not a project defined under CEQA, and no further action is required.
Attachment:
1. PSPS Annex