On Thursday, the San Francisco-based utility announced it will begin actively piloting multiple EEW solutions this year, making it one of the first energy companies in California and the U.S. to integrate the technology into its emergency management efforts.
"Safety is the cornerstone of PG&E's culture,” said Barry Anderson, vice president of Electric Distribution at PG&E in an announcement. “Nothing is more important to us than public, employee and contractor safety, and PG&E's embrace of earthquake early warning technology is the latest example of our dedication to taking a proactive and committed approach to preparedness and resiliency.”
PG&E has partnered with other EEW tech developers in this effort, including Early Warning Labs, Seismic Warning Systems and the ShakeAlert project. ShakeAlert comprises the state of California, U.S. Geological Survey and universities, including the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory at University of California, Berkeley, the University of Washington and the University of Oregon.
Through its public-private/industrial-academic partnership with Berkeley Seismological Laboratory’s Research Affiliates Program, which focuses research on development of EEW-related products, PG&E will be provided tailored data feeds to support seismic response plans. The agreement also allows PG&E to engage other organizations, such as the California Institute of Technology and UC Berkeley, to further research.
While full implementation of an EEW system may not be until several years in the future, PG&E will begin pilots this year. According to a press release, the tests will include the following real-world applications:
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Installing ground sensor stations at select PG&E Bay Area facilities to provide basic audio alerts to employees when a quake has occurred and shaking is imminent. Data from the sensor stations also will feed into the Bay Area Regional Earthquake Warning System (BREWS), enhancing the seismometer network and helping fast-track the adoption of earthquake-warning services throughout the region.
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Installing hardware on a bank of elevators at the company's downtown San Francisco headquarters, which will provide immediate elevator recall to the nearest floor when a warning signal is received. This will lock the elevator cars in place and allow passengers to safely disembark the elevators ahead of shaking, minimizing potential injury to personnel.
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Providing desktop alerts to employees connected to PG&E's intranet at the company's downtown San Francisco headquarters so they can drop, cover and hold on before shaking occurs.
