Update: PG&E now says over 300,000 customers could lose power in Wednesday blackout
Update: PG&E on Monday evening increased its estimate of customers impacted by Wednesday’s possible shutoff to 303,000 homes and businesses, adding an additional 39,000 customers in parts of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara and San Mateo.
The additions were made based on changing weather forecasts. The National Weather Service has implemented a red flag warning throughout the northern Sacramento Valley, the North Bay and parts of the East Bay, in effect 4 a.m. Wednesday through 7 a.m. Thursday. Gusts could reach as high as 55 mph locally, at high elevations, the NWS says.
Original story:
PG&E says it has given a 48-hour notice to 264,000 customers who could potentially lose power across 22 Northern California counties during a possible planned power shutoff that would start Wednesday.
The notice follows a weekend announcement by the company that it may shut off power due to dry, windy weather conditions expected to bring wildfire weather conditions Wednesday through Thursday morning.
The utility on Sunday had estimated a total of 250,000 customers in 19 counties would be affected, as the wind event is expected to have the biggest impact on the North Coast, northern Sierra Nevada and northern Sacramento Valley.
In a statement Monday morning, the company added an estimated 14,000 customers from Alameda, Amador and Marin counties to the existing list: Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Solano, Sonoma, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo and Yuba.
Gusts up to 50 mph locally are possible, according to Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and forecasts by the National Weather Service.
PG&E says it continues to monitor the conditions and will give an updated 24-hour notice Tuesday for those potentially impacted.
PG&E in October initiated four widespread “public safety planned shutoff” (PSPS) events, all in response to significant wind events the company says presented critical risks of wildfire requiring de-energization of its equipment.
This story was originally published November 18, 2019 at 12:27 PM.
