It’s hot. You’ve missed bills. And you’re worried about your power being shut off during the days you need it most.
California’s major utilities — Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric Company — are barred from disconnecting service because of unpaid bills when the temperature is forecasted to be 90 degrees.
More specifically, disconnections must be halted when it’s forecasted to be 90 degrees within a three-day “look ahead period,” the California Public Utilities Commission determined earlier this July.
Previously, utilities were barred from disconnecting customers over nonpayment when temperatures above 100 degrees were forecasted. The utilities commission recognized that the “loss of power during
temperature extremes poses serious public health risks,” it said.
The change comes amid recent scorching temperatures plaguing Californians statewide — temperatures that can pose a threat to their health.
However, the new 90-degree trigger will eventually become something for utilities to fall back on. That’s because utilities will instead use a public health tool to determine when it’s time to waive service suspensions resulting from nonpayment.
Here’s what to know.
What is the CalHeatScore? How it’s being used in power shutoffs
The California Communities Extreme Heat Scoring System, or CalHeatScore, said it provides information to help people plan and prepare for extreme heat events.
The public health tool, developed by the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, calculates at the zip code level the risk people face from extreme heat through a CalHeatScore of zero through four, or “low” through “severe.”
The electric utilities will use CalHeatScore Level 2 as a threshold, which is more consistent with the utilities commission’s intent “to expand heat protections for residential customers.”
That’s because it’s designed to identify heat conditions associated with elevated health risks in different regions of the state, unlike a uniform temperature trigger, according to the utilities commission.
So, the CalHeatScore allows “for the establishment of region-specific thresholds for disconnection suspensions,” the commission said.
This is to be implemented within six months, according to the utilities commission. In the meantime, the utilities are to waive any power shutoffs when temperatures are forecasted to reach 90 degrees — and also in the future should the CalHeatScore become temporarily unavailable.
Paris Barraza is a reporter covering Los Angeles and Southern California for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at pbarraza@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 90-degree days mean no power shutoffs for these Californians
