PreparednessCalifornia lawmakers work to improve utilities’ disaster preparedness

California lawmakers are consideringa bill to better prepare public utilities for emergencies and disasters following a series of severe storms that left thousands without power across the state.

Earlier this month the roaring Santa Ana winds left more than 434,000 residents in southern California in the dark for more than a week.

The winds, ranging from 40 to 60 mph, knocked over trees, downed power lines, and shut down schools.

California Assembly Member Anthony Portantino, who introduced the bill, said the recent storms were a clear warning that utilities needed to be better prepared for disasters.

“We just saw firsthand that our public utilities can do a better job. Clearly, they were not prepared for a disaster of this magnitude,” Portantino said.

Ronald Litzinger, the president of Southern California Edison, the local power utility, admitted that repairing the damage from the winds took far longer than anticipated.

He added that the utility also struggled with projecting accurately how long it would take to restore power and customers became frustrated with the utility’s complicated computerized phone system and the difficulty of reaching a customer service representative.

Under the proposed law, every two years utilities would be required to file a report that reviews, updates, and improves their emergency disaster and preparedness plans with every county they serve.

“Having a review every two years will force better coordination, better service and better public safety.” Portantino said.

In addition the legislation would also require the California Public Utilities Commission to establish a set of preparedness standards like using weather forecasts to ready resources and equipment for deployment before a storm.

“We learned some things from this calamity that will forever change the way we look at these disasters,” Portantino said. “Like most ratepayers, I know that a portion of my bill is intended to pay for emergency preparedness and response; let’s make sure it does.”

If signed by the governor, the law would require public utilities to begin conducting disaster preparedness meetings within three months.