PG&E Restores Nearly All Electric Customers, Gains Access to Additional 6,000 Homes & Businesses as it Continues Restoration ...
October 17 2017 - 11:30PM
Business Wire
Gas Restoration Expected by Wednesday
Evening;Customers Urged to Call PG&E for Gas Relights –
Do Not Attempt Yourself
After more than a week of around-the-clock restoration work,
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) said today that it
restored electric power to 97 percent of customers who can receive
it. Late today, the company also reported it was granted access by
CAL FIRE to an additional 6,000 homes and businesses, reducing the
number of customers the company cannot access to about 400. The
company expects to restore service to these 6,000 additional
customers within the next 24 to 48 hours and get access through CAL
FIRE for the remaining 400. PG&E also said it expects to
restore gas service to all remaining customers who can receive it
by Wednesday evening.
More than 4,300 PG&E employees and mutual-aid partners have
worked since October 9 to safely restore service to customers.
PG&E has worked closely with CAL FIRE, other agencies and first
responders to be able to make the necessary repairs as soon as safe
access to fire zones was assured.
PG&E crews will remain active in Sonoma and Napa Counties as
they make the necessary permanent repairs to the company’s gas and
electric systems.
Through Wednesday, PG&E gas service representatives and
those from other Western utilities will continue restoring service
to the remaining 11,000 customers who do not presently have gas
service, but are in a position to accept gas service. This process
involves working with the individual customers to relight their
pilot lights. Restoration begins once infrastructure is repaired,
and areas have been deemed safe by relevant authorities.
In all, as a result of the firestorm, more than 359,000
customers lost electric service and more than 42,000 gas customers
had their gas service turned off. We took this action with safety
first in mind to protect our customers and our communities.
As restoration efforts continue around the clock, PG&E is
maintaining an absolute focus on customer and public safety and
supporting firefighting efforts on these intense wind-fueled
wildfires.
Electric Progress
Since Monday, October 9, PG&E has restored power to nearly
97 percent of customers who were impacted by the fires. As of late
Tuesday, there were about 10,500 electric customers without power
in the fire-impacted areas.
Gas Progress
Since Monday, October 9, to protect customer and public safety,
PG&E proactively turned off gas service to about 42,000
customers in the affected areas of Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino
counties. Nearly 900 workers, from PG&E and other energy
companies, have been working to relight pilot lights in areas where
it’s safe to do so. There are 11,000 gas customers remaining
without service in the fire-impacted areas.
Restoring gas service is a complex process, but progress is
being made. Several factors are in play including PG&E’s access
to fire zones, authorization from the proper authorities to restore
gas, and the timing of when customers are allowed to return to
their homes. Customers are reminded to call PG&E at
1-800-743-5000 if they have questions about their gas service or
need to have their pilot light relit. Customers should not relight
the pilot light themselves.
Electric Restoration Process
- Once crews have been given permission
to enter an area by CAL FIRE, PG&E crews begin the electric
assess, repair and restoration process.
- Once safe, the first step is damage
assessment. Typically, this occurs within 12 to 24 hours.
- PG&E workers will be on site to
make the area safe by isolating electrical hazards. The next steps
are equipment repairs and coordinated restoration.
- Based on needed repairs and time to
compete work, an estimated time for restoration is established and
communicated to customers.
- Prior to safely re-energizing homes and
businesses, PG&E will inspect adjacent facilities and ensure
locations are safety to receive power.
- Where safe to do so and access is
allowed, restoring service will typically take 24-48 hours
depending on the extent of damage and complexity of the work.
- Repopulation decisions to areas or
neighborhoods are made by local law enforcement.
Gas Restoration Process
- Once crews have been given permission
to enter an area by CAL FIRE, PG&E crews begin the gas
restoration process.
- Once PG&E gains access to homes and
businesses, gas crews check the meter. Then, PG&E works to
identify structures that are safe to restore service and those that
have sustained too much damage to safely restore service.
Assessments begin immediately and typically occur within 24 hours
of gaining access.
- Because gas service was turned off to
customers, any air present in the pipeline system is purged to
ensure that natural gas is safely delivered to every
structure.
- Next, the system must be resupplied
with gas and pressure tested to make sure it is safe.
- PG&E gas workers visit every
home or business where gas may be safely restored to turn the meter
on, purge the pipe within the structure, check for leaks and ensure
every pilot light is relit for safe operation.
- Repopulation decisions to areas or
neighborhoods are made by local law enforcement.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E
Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas
and electric energy companies in the United States. Based in San
Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers
some of the nation’s cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in
Northern and Central California. For more information, visit
www.pge.com/ and www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/index.page.
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