Customer support to reduce the impact of outages
We know it's hard to lose power. That’s why we’re working hard to provide support and reduce the impact of outages. We have resources and tools available to help you.
Urgent Alert
If you smell natural gas or suspect an emergency, leave the area now and call 9-1-1.
If you see downed powerlines, stay away. Don’t exit your car or home. Call 9-1-1. Then call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000.
- How EPSS works
- What to expect
- Customer support
- Our commitment to your safety
How EPSS works
EPSS are advanced safety settings.
They allow our powerlines to automatically turn off power within one-tenth of a second. This can happen when there’s a hazard, like a tree branch falling into a powerline, which can cause a fire. These settings are in high fire-risk and surrounding areas.
“EPSS reduces wildfire risk. In 2022, there was a 68% reduction in ignitions on EPSS-enabled powerlines.” *
* CPUC-reportable ignitions in High Fire-Threat Districts on distribution powerlines (compared to the weather-normalized 2018-2020 average).
By stopping ignitions, we help prevent wildfires from starting and spreading.
If ignitions occur, the size of fires are much smaller due to EPSS. In 2022, there was a 99% decrease in acres impacted by ignitions.* This decrease occurred despite dry conditions.
*As measured by fire size from electric distribution equipment (compared to the 2018-2020 average).
These safety settings will be enabled when there is an increased wildfire risk
This is most likely from May to November, but wildfire risk can exist year-round in some areas.
If weather conditions don’t meet the need for EPSS, settings are turned off. This helps to prevent unnecessary outages.
EPSS helps keep you safer, but you may experience unplanned power outages. Many things can cause an unplanned outage. This includes hazards like a branch or animal hitting a powerline. Hazards could cause an outage on any powerline, including those without EPSS. Lines with EPSS help prevent wildfires by turning off power faster.
We do not expect these settings to impact customer bills.
Portable Battery Program
Find out if you qualify for a portable battery.
Generator and Battery Rebate Program
Get a backup power rebate.
Backup Power Transfer Meter Program
Connect a generator to your house through this free offer.
Outage notifications
Ensure you get outage alerts.
Additional resources
Other safety efforts include:
- Undergrounding 10,000 miles of powerlines to improve safety and reliability
- Exceeding state vegetation standards to prevent trees and branches from falling into lines
- Installing stronger poles and powerlines to make the electric grid safer and more resilient
- Reducing the impact of Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) to help keep the power on
If you’re served by powerlines with EPSS, you may experience unplanned outages. We notify you when there is an outage. We also send updates until the power is back on.
If a powerline is on your property, we may need access to restore power. Please allow our technicians access to patrol. The sooner they can patrol, the sooner power will be restored.
Outages that result from enhanced safety settings are not Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS). PSPS outages are a last resort used to keep you safe. You will be notified before a PSPS takes place.
We’re reducing the impact of losing power by:
- Providing backup power support for qualifying customers
- Alerting you when an outage has happened and when you can expect power back
- Using ground and air patrols for quicker restoration
- Decreasing the size and duration of outages
We’re improving the electric system for safety and to keep your power on. No matter the season, it’s important to stay safe and prepared for outages.
Outage preparedness guides
Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings Fact Sheet
How we're adjusting the sensitivity on some equipment to automatically - and quickly - turn off power if the system detects a problem.
- Filename
- epss-fact-sheet.pdf
- Size
- 155 KB
- Format
- application/pdf
Non-residential outage preparedness guide
Safety information for business and property owners
- Filename
- outage-preparedness-guide-nonresidential.pdf
- Size
- 887 KB
- Format
- application/pdf
Residential outage preparedness guide
Information to keep you and your community safe.
- Filename
- outage-preparedness-guide-residential.pdf
- Size
- 885 KB
- Format
- application/pdf
More information on outages and safety
Safety
At PG&E, nothing is more important than safety.
Outage preparedness and support
Stay prepared for power outages and get support.
Community Wildfire Safety Program (CWSP)
Find out how we are making our system safer and more reliable.