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SDG&E shutoff plan to affect 590 people on life supportAug 16, 2009 (North County Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Biancca Berry is worried about what will happen if San Diego Gas & Electric Co. pulls the plug on electricity in rural San Diego County to prevent wildfires from igniting in fierce autumn Santa Ana winds. The tiny 29-year-old Ramona woman with bright brown eyes suffers from spinal muscular atrophy, a disease that attacks the muscles. She breathes on her own during the day, but she needs an electrically powered respirator while she sleeps. "If SDG&E cut the power, I would have no respirator, basically," Berry said in a recent interview at her home. And, she said, "I'm not the only one up here who is disabled and uses a respirator at night." Documents filed with the California Public Utilities Commission, which will decide next month whether SDG&E can turn off the power, show that 590 people in the vast rural area targeted for potential outages depend on electrical life-support machines. SDG&E spokeswoman Stephanie Donovan said the company realizes its plan would create a hardship for disabled people. She said the utility has attempted to contact every person who depends on a life-support machine within the targeted territory to make sure he or she has a backup plan for when the power goes out. Donovan said that backup plan can entail rolling out a generator to keep a respirator running or getting a ride from someone to a medical facility that can take care of the person's needs. "We are trying to cover all of the bases so that nobody is left behind," she said. Berry said she received a call from SDG&E last month. Great risk Stung by state investigations that fingered its power lines as the cause of three October 2007 wildfires and having paid out more than $700 million to victims of those fires, SDG&E is trying to figure out a way to keep its wires from sparking more infernos. The utility has applied to the state regulatory body for permission to turn off the electricity in the windier, more fire-prone parts of its territory when certain weather conditions are present. If the plan receives the green light next month, the utility would cut power to as many as 130,000 people when wind, humidity and plant moisture thresholds are reached. Ramona is just one of the communities that could be blacked out. Others are De Luz, Fallbrook, Rainbow, Pala, Pauma Valley, Palomar Mountain, Valley Center and Julian, as well as outlying neighborhoods of Escondido and Poway. Last week, a pair of potential outcomes emerged: An administrative law judge recommended rejecting the plan, while a state commissioner recommended authorizing it as a one-season experiment that would expire Dec. 31. The utilities commission is set to decide the matter Sept. 10. Company officials say their controversial and sweeping plan would be an effective tool to tame wildfires because, in recent years, power-line-ignited blazes have accounted for 20 percent of the land torched in Southern California. Critics say that while the plan may prevent some wildfires, it could cause other problems. With the power out, they say, disabled signals would snarl traffic trying to evacuate; disabled telephones, televisions and computers would prevent people from receiving evacuation notices or reporting new fires; and disabled automatic garage door openers could prevent elderly and disabled people from evacuating. Critics also say SDG&E would be putting people such as Berry at great risk. Gasping for air Speaking from the corner of her living room couch, Berry explained that she was born with spinal muscular atrophy and that, because of the disease, for which there is no cure, she weighs a mere 45 pounds. "Doctors have tried to help me gain weight, but nothing works," she said. Berry, who enjoys virtually all types of music and staying in touch with friends via Facebook, said she has been breathing with the aid of a respirator since she was 12. And the few times the machine stopped working were scary. "I have woken up gasping for air," she said. Berry also uses a coughalator when she gets sick. That usually happens a couple of times a year. When it does, it takes three weeks for her to recover. "It's usually just a cold," she said. "But, for me, a cold is 10 times worse than for the average person." The coughalator works like a vacuum cleaner. Unable to cough, she needs it to remove phlegm from her throat and lungs. And when she has a cold, she is on the respirator 24 hours a day. Berry also said she uses an electric wheelchair to get around her three-bedroom apartment. A 24-hour caretaker lifts her from the chair to her bed or sofa. The wheelchair runs on a rechargeable battery. The respirator and coughalator must be plugged into the wall. SDG&E officials say they realize that many people's health depends on electrically powered instruments. "We think it is important to recognize that we are going to inconvenience people, and that for some it is going to be a real hardship," Donovan said. And that's why, the company said, it contacted customers who need electrical machinery to stay alive. Generators Berry said SDG&E wanted to know whether she had a generator. She doesn't. Even if she knew where to find one, she said, it would be impractical to use a generator in an apartment. And she doesn't like the idea of storing a can of gasoline. "I really don't want to keep something flammable in my apartment," she said. For those such as Berry who lack backup power, SDG&E is offering to take them for free wherever they need to go, whether to a hospital, relative's home or somewhere else, and bring them home once electricity is restored. Donovan said 23 people so far have taken the company up on its offer of a ride. Berry said she would prefer to have friends or her parents pick her up. The company also has said it will issue $250 debit cards to life-support and low-income customers to help defray costs of lodging, transportation and food. SDG&E says it intends to notify people by telephone, text message or e-mail in advance -- twice -- several hours before throwing backcountry switches. Still, Berry objects to the whole idea of shutting down power as a fire-prevention strategy. "Why am I paying my bills for electricity if I'm supposed to buy fuel for a generator? I might as well camp in my own apartment," Berry said. "I think maybe they are better off fixing their wires than turning off the power. Why not put all that energy into putting the power lines underground? Why not fix Ramona instead of shutting it down?" SDG&E's Donovan countered that the plan is not a matter of fixing poles and wires. "There has been some misrepresentation by opponents of the plan that this is somehow about maintenance of our facilities, and that is completely false," Donovan said. Rather, she said, the plan is about preventing fires from starting in circumstances SDG&E has no control over, such as when powerful winds snap tree limbs and slam them into wires. To see more of the North County Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.nctimes.com. Copyright (c) 2009, North County Times, Escondido, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. 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