Starting in October, Comcast California to Implement New Plan for Public Safety Power Shutoffs

After another dry year and more fires in California, Comcast is preparing for the likelihood of continued Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS).

These proactive power shutoffs are initiated by electric companies to reduce the risk that their facilities will start a wildfire. However, Comcast services require commercial power to operate, so when the power is shut off, our services are disrupted. This service disruption may occur even if a home has power, because Comcast may not have power in the part of our network needed to send a signal to that home.

During a Public Safety Power Shutoff that takes place after October 11, 2021, where safe and feasible, Comcast will deploy 72 hours of backup power in Tier 2 and Tier 3 High Fire Threat Districts for three key priorities:

• Critical locations such as hospitals, nursing homes, healthcare facilities, police, fire, emergency operations and other locations considered to be critical infrastructure.
• Facilities providing service to wireless networks.
• Network equipment in communities lacking sufficient wireless coverage.

To support our customers and communities, we’ve updated the Public Safety Power Shutoff page on our website. Customers can learn more about our network resiliency efforts, while preparing for and staying informed about Public Safety Power Shutoff events. Click on these links to explore the site, which is available in both English and Spanish.