DaVina Flemings Chief State Government Relations 1415 L Street, Suite 280 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 386-5703 (916) 386-5720 Fax DaVina.Flemings@pge.com SENATE FLOOR ALERT SB 378 (Wiener) – OPPOSE Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) opposes SB 378, which would put customers and communities in a very dangerous position by potentially penalizing the utilities for deploying a public safety power shutoff (PSPS) event in the future when weather conditions and fire risks warrant such action. The provisions present in SB 378 would actively disincentive safety by penalizing utilities for actions that are intended to protect lives and property. The decision to turn off power to our customers is one that is not taken lightly, and is informed by real-time weather data both from PG&E’s own equipment and that of third parties. Using this information, PG&E makes the decisions to deenergize based on one, simple metric – whether doing so will keep our customers safe. In addition, PG&E’s electric system is large and complex, and we should not be forced to re-energize before completing necessary patrols and inspections that are designed to protect public health and safety. SB 378 would taint the utilities’ PSPS decision making processes, and could ultimately lead to future tragedies. PG&E’s PSPS protocols were included in our 2019 Wildfire Mitigation Plan, as per SB 901 (2018), and were approved by the CPUC. The PSPS protocols were designed to keep our customers, their families and communities safe during periods of extreme weather and heightened fire risk. We remain committed to working with all stakeholders, including the CPUC and the PSPS Order Insituting Investigation, to prepare in advance for possible public safety power outages. We are constantly striving to improve our execution and address the impacts of PSPS events, as we comprehensively address the risks of fire ignitions and spread so that future PSPS events are smaller in scope and shorter in duration. For these reasons, PG&E urges a no vote on SB 378. January 23, 2020