MCE provides electric generation services to our customers in partnership with PG&E. Your electricity service with MCE still uses PG&E’s lines, which are subject to potential PSPS events. MCE is not directly involved in transmission or distribution of electricity or evaluating if weather conditions meet the criteria for a PSPS event.

If a PSPS event is called in your area, your home with solar will still experience an outage unless you have battery storage or another type of backup power.

If you have solar and battery power at your home, you will be able to “island” during a PSPS event. This means your solar panels will be able to charge your battery which can power part or all of your home depending on the size of your system. How long you will be able to maintain power during an outage will depend on the size of your solar system and battery, as well as your electricity consumption. If your system is not large enough to support your full home, consider powering your medical devices, refrigerator, and charging devices first.

Portable battery storage can be a good alternative to gas generators for providing small amounts of necessary power during a PSPS event. Batteries are quiet and don’t produce air pollution, making them safe to operate inside your home, and don’t require purchase and storage of gasoline.

A PSPS event is a planned shutoff of electric service during a qualifying weather event that presents an increased risk of fire. Customers will have advanced notice of these events and time to plan. Rolling outages are caused when electric demand exceeds the available energy and will generally not have advanced notice. Participating in flex alerts, increasing your energy efficiency and decreasing your energy usage can help reduce the risk of rolling outages.

Visit PG&E’s website and ensure that your information is up to date. PG&E will notify you via your preferred contact method ahead of an outage event.

There is no set time for a PSPS event – it will vary based on the weather conditions. It is also possible to experience back-to-back outages, where power may be briefly restored before being turned off again due to another event. PG&E recommends preparing for outages lasting up to 7 days.

The California Foundation for Independent Living Centers offers PSPS resources to qualifying customers who may need help evacuating in the event of a power shutoff.

Make sure you have an emergency plan in place. Prepare for any medical needs, build or restock an emergency kit with non-perishable food items, water, batteries, and a first aid kit, and fully charge your devices. You can view a full list of recommendations at prepareforpowerdown.com.