NEVADA CITY, Calif. November 4, 2019 – The latest series of power shutoffs is behind us, time to talk about what went right, what went wrong and how we can do better as a community next time. Join us on Friday, November 8th, from 6:00 – 9:00 pm at the Grass Valley Veterans Memorial Hall for a discussion of how Nevada County residents, agencies and businesses were affected by the unprecedented utility blackouts.
PG&E’s forced power shutoffs created hardships for individuals, heavily impacted vulnerable members of the community, disrupted school schedules, affected health care providers, caused revenue losses for businesses, cities, counties and the state. The “trickle down” effect of businesses being unable to function was multiplied by income losses for staff and the ensuing hardships on families.
Communication outages by many providers affected landlines, cell phone service and internet connectivity – leaving residents without any means to contact 911 or receive emergency notifications.
What worked
Agencies, non-profits and your local media implemented emergency plans to keep the community safe and informed. As always, residents stepped up and helped non-profits alleviate some of the most pressing needs of especially vulnerable residents.
A lot was done right, let’s tally the wins.
What didn’t work and why
The best laid plans… Not everything went according to plan. From not being able to get enough ice for your coolers to generators breaking down/catching on fire to insufficient information – all’s not well.
We’ll conduct an honest assessment of the flaws in emergency plans and procedures then discuss improvements for the inevitable next power shutoff.
Alternatives
Quick fixes and long term plans to fix the infrastructure thus avoiding serial blackouts and their damaging consequences will conclude the town hall.
Our panelists include (partial list)
- Nevada County CEO Alison Lehman
- NID General Manager Rem Scherzinger
- Nevada County Superintendent of Schools Scott Lay
- 211 Connecting Point Executive Director Ann Guerra
- FREED Disability Community Advocate Brian Snyder
More panelists representing fire, law enforcement, health care, business and media to be announced shortly.
Your questions
How to participate: Come to the meeting, we will have cards for your questions. Send your questions to townhall@yubanet.com ahead of Friday noon.
Other ways to listen/watch
The town hall will be broadcast live on KVMR, NC Media and YubaNet.
Doors open at 5:30 pm, we will begin promptly at 6:00 pm and end at 8:30 pm with some time for one on one questions. The event is free and open to all.
Stay tuned for more details and mark your calendars for this Friday evening.