PG&E Moving Forward With Shutting Off Power for Safety, Impacting About 150,000 Customers in Portions of 18 Counties
November 19 2019 - 11:03PM
Business Wire
Scope of Event Reduced by 50 Percent Due to
Evolving Weather, PG&E Actions
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) will move forward
with a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) beginning Wednesday
morning in portions of the Sierra Foothills, the North Bay and the
North Valley.
The decision was based on weather forecasts indicating the
potential for high winds and dry conditions leading to increased
fire risk.
Customer Impact Reduced by 50 Percent
As of 9:00 pm, the safety shutoffs are expected to include
approximately 150,000 customers in 18 counties: Amador, Butte,
Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer,
Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Solano, Sonoma, Tehama, Yolo and Yuba. They
are anticipated to begin as early as 6:00 a.m. Wednesday for many
customers; customers in other locations may not be impacted until
around 4:00 p.m. Wednesday. The expectation is that the weather
will clear around mid-morning Thursday, allowing the patrol and
restoration process to begin.
For a list of customer counts and cities per county, see
pge.com/pspsupdates.
Customers No Longer in Scope
Customers in six other counties, originally notified that they
would be part of the PSPS, were notified that they will not lose
power as weather conditions have improved. Those counties no longer
impacted are: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz
and San Mateo. These customers are being contacted by PG&E via
text, email or automated phone call to confirm that they will not
be impacted by the PSPS.
Timeline
There is still considerable uncertainty regarding the strength,
timing and humidity levels associated with this weather system.
Forecasts indicate the period of peak winds should end
mid-morning on Thursday, Nov. 21. Once the high winds subside,
PG&E will inspect the de-energized lines to ensure they were
not damaged during the wind event, and then restore power.
PG&E will safely restore power in stages as quickly as
possible, with the goal of restoring the most customers by end of
day Thursday, based on the current weather conditions.
On PG&E’s website, the PSPS maps provide a visual
representation of potentially impacted areas. The best way for
customers to confirm if they will or won’t be affected by a PSPS is
to use the online address lookup tool at
www.pge.com/pspsupdates.
Customer Notifications and Impact
The company began notifying potentially impacted customers on
Monday (48 hours prior) and notified them again today, 24 hours
prior, and is sending out notices again this evening to alert
customers. Customers who have provided their contact information to
PG&E were notified by phone, text and email.
It's important to remember that customers not impacted by the
PSPS may experience other power outages due to PG&E equipment
damaged during this wind event; those customers will not be
notified in advance.
It is also possible that customers may be affected by a power
shutoff even though they are not experiencing extreme weather
conditions in their specific location. This is because the electric
system relies on power lines working together to provide
electricity across cities, counties and regions. Watch a video
about why this happens here.
Community Resource Centers
To support customers in the affected areas, PG&E will open
several Community Resource Centers (CRCs).
The Community Resource Centers will open Wednesday at 8:00 a.m.
and remain open until 8:00 pm. The locations of CRCs will be
available at www.pge.com/pspsupdates.
The following services will be provided at our Community
Resource Centers: snacks (non-perishable), ice, blankets (upon
request), heating and cooling, restroom facilities and charging
stations for electronic devices.
How Customers Can Prepare
PG&E is asking customers to:
- Plan for medical needs like medications that require
refrigeration or devices that need power.
- Identify backup charging methods for phones and keep hard
copies of emergency numbers.
- Build or restock your emergency kit with flashlights, fresh
batteries, first aid supplies and cash.
- Keep in mind family members who are elderly, younger children
and pets.
- Learn more about wildfire risk and what to do before, during
and after an emergency to keep your family safe at PG&E’s
Safety Action Center http://www.safetyactioncenter.pge.com/.
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 16 million people in
Northern and Central California. For more information, visit
www.pge.com and www.pge.com/news.
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