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The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has issued All Facilities Letter (AFL) 19-30, providing details and resources for hospitals on California energy companies’ plans to potentially turn off their power during a wildfire, high winds, or other extreme weather events.
According to the AFL, the public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) could last anywhere from a few hours to multiple days, depending on the weather conditions.
CDPH reminds hospitals and other facilities to ensure that their local power company has their updated contact information for receiving outage alerts 24 hours a day; report the unusual occurrence of a PSPS event to the CDPH Licensing and Certification (L&C) Program; and report a PSPS, generator and fuel status, impact to patients, and resource needs to the local L&C office, the local public health officer, and the Medical Health Operational Area Coordinator (MHOAC).
More information about PSPS events and notifying power companies, as well as additional resources, is available in the AFL.