On Friday in San Francisco, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is holding an emergency hearing to hear from Pacific Gas & Electric about its public safety power shutoffs. According to the CPUC, because of the change in how destructive wildfires have become, their increasing frequency, and the impact of climate change, the state’s electric utilities have determined public safety power shutoffs are a necessity. 

Last week, PG&E executed these power shutoffs over a wide swath of northern and north central California. The impacts on individuals and businesses were significant, with those with medical conditions finding themselves in difficult circumstances and, in some cases, with few options. And business owners experienced loss of business, and, in the case of those in food service, losing perishable foodstuffs, without the possibility of reimbursement. 

CapRadio reporter Scott Rodd shares his reporting on the impact on one business, and the view from PG&E and a former CPUC administrative law judge.

Watch the CPUC meeting on Friday from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. here.