Who
- All hospitals served by PG&E
What
During this month’s storms, Hospital Council was in daily contact with PG&E to stay on top of the outages for hospitals in the North State. Despite the severity of the storms, few hospitals were impacted and PG&E quickly re-energized them, often in minutes or a few hours. There were a few hospitals that were out for longer, but fortunately they were prepared.
Takeaway / Next Steps
It’s clear that PG&E prioritizes hospitals and has improved the grid and its own internal processes to deliver on its commitment to them. Nevertheless, the severity and widespread nature of the recent storms is a good reminder that all hospitals are vulnerable, outages are likely inevitable year-round, and ensuring adequate and dependable backup power is only more of a priority. Hospital Council and PG&E have committed to working together to further improve on keeping hospitals energized. Similar work is underway with other power companies.