Sacramento, CA – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT:
Cameron Moore, 916-612-1520
Communications and Marketing Manager, California Foundation for Independent Living Centers (CFILC)
PSPS likely to occur Monday night for Northern counties, Tuesday & Wednesday night for Southern counties
September 7th, 2020. Sacramento, CA – While working to ensure that individuals enrolled in the recently launched Disability Disaster Access and Resources (DDAR) program are prepared and have their needs met in preparation for this year’s first planned Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) of 2020, we have learned that PSPS events will also include multiple counties in the southern part of the state. The current forecast indicates an increased likelihood of a planned Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) by all three major utilities, Pacific Gas & Electricity (PG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). Currently, twenty-one Northern counties and six Southern counties are slated to be affected.
The groundbreaking DDAR pilot program which was developed by The California Foundation for Independent Living Centers (CFILC) and supported by PG&E and Anthem Blue Cross, brings necessary assistance to people with disabilities, and older adults with access and functional needs who require electricity as a part of daily living, before, during, and after the active PSPS event, which are expects to begin within hours.
The California Disability Disaster Access and Resources program is coordinating with twenty local Independent Living Centers (ILCs) to deliver:
• Personal emergency preparedness support
• Assistance with Medical Baseline and local emergency alert enrollment
• Trainings on a series of disaster and related topics as well as assessing an individual’s needs order to maintain their independence during a PSPS
• Additional assistance based on resources available
“As we prepare for Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) to have an affect the state of California, it is important to remember these events can quickly turn into an emergency for people with disabilities and older adults who rely on the use of electricity. It is critical that people with disabilities are provided early alerts, disaster readiness support and assistance during these events. While wildfire prevention is necessary we cannot allow people with disabilities to be put at risk during multiday power outages,” explained Christina N. Mills, CFILC Executive Director.
Individuals can apply for services on the DDAR website here: https://disabilitydisasteraccess.org.
Find the location of your local Disability Disaster Access & Resource Center by downloading the DDARC directory (PDF).
Find Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&E) updates.
Find Southern California Edison’s (SCE) updates.
Find San Diego Gas and Electric’s (SDG&E) updates.
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