GRASS VALLEY, Calif. — The noisy hum of generators is becoming an all-too-common sound these days, as people who live in Nevada County—like Brian Terhorst—suffer through yet another PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS).
“It’s traumatizing, it’s terrifying,” Terhorst told ABC10 just hours after losing power Wednesday afternoon.
For him, an outage is more than just an expensive inconvenience.
“This isn’t, like, ‘I’m going to lose a casserole in my fridge,’ you know? This is, ‘I may not be alive tomorrow,’” he said. “I’m completely dependent on electric devices to live.”
Terhorst has a degenerative condition called Late-onset Pompe Disease, which weakens his muscles over time. He needs to use a ventilator around-the-clock, to assist him with breathing – and keep him alive. He also uses a powered wheelchair.
“If the chair or the vent run out and I don’t have a means to recharge them, I have to admit myself to the hospital because, you know, I can’t live without them,” Terhorst said.
He lives alone with his service dog Coppola and drives using an adaptive van, but that independence is powered by electricity.
“I take for granted how much my lifestyle is completely dependent on electrical power, because when that becomes jeopardized, you know, my focus on what I’m doing for the day turns to survival mode,” he said.
Ana Acton is the executive director of FREED, an aging and disability resource center that serves people in Nevada, Sierra, Yuba, Sutter and Colusa counties. All Tuesday and Wednesday, her organization has been frantically helping people prepare for these shutoffs.
“People are really anxious, very scared about how they’re going to deal with the situation,” Acton said. “Trying to think through a plan with people, right? Like, what are you going to do for water? What are you going to do for food? What happens when your generator doesn’t work or what happens when this backup battery system runs out of power? What are you going to do?”
Some FREED employees spent Wednesday afternoon delivering backup batteries to people who rely on electricity to power their medical devices.
PG&E tells people in that situation that “it is critical that you have a plan in place for an extended power outage.”
“It’s not as simple as, say, ‘Have a plan,’” Terhorst countered. “There has to be a more effective mechanism in place than charging stations that run 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.,” referring to PG&E’s community resource centers, which - during the day - offer bathrooms, shelter and electricity to customers in counties affected by the shutoffs. They close around dinnertime.
“PG&E is in a no-win situation here,” Terhorst acknowledged. “If they don’t shut down power, fire hazard is worse. And if they do shut off power, lives will be lost.”
He believes it’s only a matter of time before someone who needs electricity to survive– doesn’t survive one of these power outages.
During the last PG&E power outage, Acton said, a number of people wound up going to the hospital to get what they need.
“We’re hearing these really dramatic stories about people’s lives and how they’re dealing with (the PG&E power shutoffs). They’re fearful,” Acton said. “There’s a lot of anxiety and concern in people wondering how they’re going to get their needs met.”
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