How enhance power line settings are contributing to frequent power outages in Aptos

APTOS, Calif. (KION-TV) - Power outages have become a pressing issue for residents in Aptos, where frustrations and concerns grow.

The enhanced powerline safety setting is designed to shut off power when hazards are detected, which is crucial in wildfire prone areas like Aptos.

PG&E says, its this system that's causing the shut offs.

People in Aptos have reported experiencing multiple power loss events and now they've reached their boiling point.

"Friends have been frustrated with it, there was some talk about just the length of the outages and the the lack of notice, Gretchen Iliff Aptos resident said.

According to PG&E about 1.8 million customers in high fire risk communities are protected by enhanced power line safety settings.

People in Aptos are some of the customers.

"These settings are able to turn off power within one tenth of a second any time they detect a hazard, such as a tree branch or an animal coming in contact with their power lines to prevent a spark or a fire," Stephanie Magallon PG&E spokesperson said.

Last week a branch fell over PG&E lines, triggering the outage in order to prevent a fire from sparking.

"Everybody gets frustrated, but again, in the big the big picture is I'd rather have it go out for the safety reasons than be surprised with a wildfire come ripping through here and destroying the whole community," Chuck Nielsen Aptos resident said.

In response, PG&E is installing grid scope sensors to monitor and prevent future outages.

"If grid scope is detecting that, we're seeing several outages caused by birds landing on our power lines, we're going to be able to look at that data and install bird barriers there," Magallon said.

PG&E says, they'll install a total of ten thousand grid scoped sensors throughout the service area, and a third of those sensors are going directly to the Santa Cruz mountains.