PG&E holding webinar for Sonoma and Marin county residents on new safety settings for power lines

PG&E is hosting a webinar Wednesday for Sonoma and Marin county residents about the adjustments made to its equipment to help prevent wildfires.

PG&E representatives will discuss enhanced power line safety settings and answer questions from 5:30-7 p.m. during the virtual event.

In July, the utility altered some of its equipment so that power shuts down more quickly when there are issues that could cause wildfires, such as a branch hitting a power line. Once a shift in the electrical current is identified, power cuts off in one-tenth of a second, according to PG&E’s website.

More than 11,500 miles of lines across the utility’s entire service area have been affected by the protective measures, including parts of west Sonoma County and Geyserville.

Although PG&E has called the initiative successful, some Sonoma County residents have become frustrated with the frequency of the shut-offs. Between mid-August and late September, five outages were caused by enhanced power line safety settings.

The utility has been making adjustments to reduce the duration and frequency of outages for customers, PG&E spokeswoman Deanna Contreras said.

Visit bit.ly/3G0JKrK to join the webinar or call the toll-free dial-in number at 1-888-790-3445. The conference ID number is 4626715.