California’s grid is run by CAISO, and for several years now its most predictable outage hasn’t been a storm: it has been planned. In October 2019, PG&E ran the largest Public Safety Power Shutoff in state history, de-energizing lines across 34 counties and cutting power to roughly 738,000 customer accounts in one event, with a second shutoff that November affecting about 49,000 more. Wildfire-weather wind events since then have brought smaller but regular shutoffs across PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E territory, and the August 2020 heat wave layered rolling CAISO-wide blackouts on top. If you’re comparing solar quotes in California, here is a point that is easy to miss: when the grid goes dark in a shutoff, a standard rooftop system goes dark with it, even at noon on a cloudless day.
Current price of the HomePower 3000 at Jackery (panels included)
Why rooftop solar goes dark in a PSPS
A PSPS isn’t a failure of your panels; it’s a deliberate de-energizing of the lines they feed into. From Sonoma County wine country down through SCE and SDG&E territory, a de-energized line means your grid-tied inverter has nothing to synchronize to. The October 2019 event alone touched more than a third of PG&E’s roughly two-million-customer footprint at once. So the one time you’d most want your own solar (a hot, smoky afternoon with the grid switched off for days) is exactly when a panels-only system gives you nothing you can actually plug into.
Anti-islanding, in plain English
The reason is a safety rule called anti-islanding. A grid-tied inverter is required to stop pushing power the instant the grid loses voltage, so it can’t back-feed a “dead” line and endanger a PG&E crew working to restore it. That rule is mandatory, and for good reason. But it also means rooftop solar and battery storage do two different jobs: panels lower your monthly bill, while only stored power keeps the lights on when CAISO is off.
PSPS has gotten more precise, not less frequent
By 2020, PG&E’s grid-hardening and sectionalizing work meant a comparable wind event affected roughly 50% fewer customers than the 2019 baseline: real progress, but it means smaller, more surgical shutoffs rather than an end to them. A watch typically goes out two to four days before a high-wind event, with the actual shutoff decision confirmed closer to the day. That’s a real warning window: a battery charged when the watch is issued is ready well before the line actually drops.
What actually has to stay on during a shutoff
A fridge draws about 150W, ten LED bulbs roughly 50W together, a Wi-Fi router near 10W, and phone charging about 20W: near 300W of steady draw, comfortably inside a mid-size battery’s reach for a day or two.
| Load | Typical draw | Energy per day |
|---|---|---|
| Fridge/freezer | ~150W running (cycling) | ~1,200Wh |
| Wi-Fi router + modem | ~15W | ~360Wh |
| LED lights (ten bulbs) | ~50W | ~300Wh (6 hrs) |
| Phone and laptop charging | ~20 to 60W | ~150 to 250Wh |
| CPAP (humidifier off) | ~40W | ~400Wh per night |
| Window AC (hot PSPS day) | ~900 to 1,200W running | ~4,000 to 6,000Wh |
| Well pump (rural CA) | 240V, unit-dependent | Needs the 5000 Plus |
Whole-home battery or portable backup
There are two ways to close that gap. A whole-home battery wired into your solar switches over automatically but is expensive, often adding many thousands of dollars and weeks of permitting before it’s live. A portable solar battery backup does the essential job for a fraction of that, works the day it arrives, and needs no electrician.
For the core of a home during a shutoff (refrigerator, Wi-Fi, phones, and lights) the Solar Generator HomePower 3000 runs essentials for one to two days, and its included panels refill it under California’s strong sun while the grid stays off.
Homeowners in a larger place around Los Angeles or San Diego, or anyone who wants to carry more through a multi-day PSPS on the scale of October 2019, can step up to the HomePower 3600 Plus: 3,584Wh and 3,600W, expandable to 21kWh, with a transfer switch that ties it into your circuits.
HomePower 3600 Plus at Jackery: 3,584Wh, expandable
For a rural property with a well pump or central AC to protect through a hot-weather shutoff, the Solar Generator 5000 Plus delivers 5,040Wh and 7,200W with both 120V and 240V, and expands to 60kWh.
| Unit | Capacity / output | Best for a California shutoff | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| HomePower 3000 | 3,072Wh · 3,600W · panels included | Fridge, Wi-Fi, and lights for a typical 1 to 2 day PSPS | Check price → |
| HomePower 3600 Plus | 3,584Wh · 3,600W · to 21kWh | Multi-day shutoffs on the scale of October 2019 | Check price → |
| Solar Generator 5000 Plus | 5,040Wh · 7,200W · 120V/240V · to 60kWh | Well pump or central AC on a rural property | Check price → |
Set-up checklist before the next PSPS watch
- Charge to full the moment a PSPS watch is issued. You typically get two to four days of notice: use it.
- Check your utility’s outage map (PG&E, SCE, or SDG&E) to see if your area is in the potential shutoff zone.
- Map which outlets and which loads. Fridge, router, one lamp per room, medical equipment.
- Keep the panels somewhere you can deploy them fast, since a shutoff can run into daylight hours you’ll want to use.
- Buy extension cords rated for the load. A short 12-gauge cord for the fridge run.
- Pair the HomePower 3600 Plus with a transfer switch if you want hardwired circuits. Licensed electrician only.
- Sign up for utility PSPS alerts by text or email so the warning reaches you before the line drops, not after.
The takeaway for California: going solar lowers your bill, but it doesn’t make you shutoff-proof on its own. In PSPS country, the pairing that matters is panels plus even a modest battery: that’s what keeps the essentials running through a de-energized afternoon.
Jackery's full home backup lineup and current prices
Keep reading: California solar incentives & costs · Solar battery backup vs rooftop solar (Oregon) · Solar battery backup vs rooftop solar (Washington) · Solar generator vs gas generator