SDG&E Outage: MicroGrid
Last updated 7/6/2021 at 9:13am
On June 23, Borrego Springs were subject to an unplanned power outage, where power was out for an estimated four hours. The transition to the microgrid was not, as Borregans discovered, an immediate thing.
“The microgrid is not designed to automatically kick in when there is a power outage. In order to safely operate the microgrid, an array of safety checks must be performed prior to switching it on,” Vanessa Garcia, SDG&E spokesperson, said.
Once the June 23 outage was identified, SDG&E dispatched field personnel to patrol and inspect the electrical infrastructure. The cause of the outage was a relay operation in the SDG&E substation, which was caused by third party generator testing.
“All service was restored with the SDG&E electric grid around the same time the microgrid was ready for transition, but it wasn’t needed,” Garcia said.
