A bill to improve emergency and disaster preparedness in California was approved recently by the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee.
AB 1650, introduced by Assemblyman Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge), requires public utilities to hold disaster preparedness meetings every two years with the counties and cities they serve in an effort to improve readiness and be better prepared for natural disasters.
Also, the California Public Utilities Commission will help set standards for each utility.
“In the wake of the fierce winds and power outages that caused so much damage in Southern California late last year, we need to be better organized for the next disaster,” Portantino said in a statement.
A report commissioned by Southern California Edison earlier this year found the utility could have been better prepared for a major disaster and consequently could have reduced the time it took to respond to the wind damage last December.
– Mark Kellam, Times Community News
Twitter: @LAMarkKellam
http://www.pasadenasun.com/the626now/tn-gnp-0708-preparedness-bill-approved,0,2329812.story
Hopefully meetings of this nature will also bring awareness to the public of what the cities, counties and utilites are capable of in a disaster event.