DISASTER PREPAREDNESS PROGRAM

Savings lives and money – Microgrid technologies can do both 

September 27th, 2019. By Jason Belden, DPP Manager. 

​

In California, there is this “new normal” of extended periods of extreme heat, fierce winds, and tinder-dry wildlands. The wildfire season, once only 60 or 70 days in the 1970s, now extends for over six months of the year. The two largest and two most destructive wildfires in state history have raged in just the last two years.

Among the responses of the state’s large electrical utilities has been the Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) program, during which transmission lines that run through high fire-risk areas will be intentionally shut down to prevent the possibility of sparking another catastrophic fire.

Southern California Edison stated that customers should be prepared to be without power for an extended period, when advising about the prospects for these power shut-offs. San Diego Gas & Electric revealed that power would remain out as long as the threat to their system and public safety remains. The state’s largest utility company PG&E, advised stocking up on a week’s worth of supplies.

 Are these our only options for mitigating wildfires? What if utility companies generated electricity closer to the communities that they serve? Instead of transmission lines stretching for hundreds of miles through extremely rugged mountainous terrain, is it possible to generate power closer to our long-term care facilities?

The short answer is yes. A growing movement of healthcare providers across the state are looking closer at alternative or renewable energy sources. Most people have heard of solar power as an alternate way to provide electricity to the building, but there are new approaches to generating power for multiple buildings in the form of microgrids.

Microgrids are comprised of a small network of electricity users with a local source of supply, which is attached to the larger grid. That local source of supply can be solar power, battery power, solid oxide fuel cells, etc. Microgrids, combined with energy storage, have the capacity to provide a clean uninterrupted power supply that can go off the local utility company’s grid for days, even weeks at a time.

Many folks read this and think sounds great, but what about OSHPD? The good news is that OSHPD has already overseen complex microgrid projects on acute hospital campuses with minimal time delays. Two California hospitals have already installed microgrids for their campuses with great success.

If you are concerned about how to ensure power supply at your facility during these utility shut-offs, then these systems are worth considering. The up-front cost is minimal and it can be scaled up or down to virtually any size of building. This flexibility and customization to our long-term care facilities makes the idea of building your own microgrid at your facility a viable option. If you would like to know whether California’s “new normal” of extreme, prolonged wildfire hazard could personally affect your facility or your family, check the website of your electricity provider at the links provided.

​

For more information about microgrids and their applicability to our buildings, please contact Jason Belden, CAHF’s Disaster Preparedness Program Manager.