PG&E blackout update: Most in the dark for wildfire danger should be reconnected by 10 p.m.

About 31,000 homes and business across Northern California remained without power Friday as the latest PG&E Corp. “public safety power shutoff” persisted for a third day as hot, dry and windy weather across Northern California continued to put the region at risk for wildfire.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said it restored power to about 10,000 customers late Thursday after Diablo winds subsided in parts of the utility’s service territory. The company said “essentially all others” would have their power restored by 10 p.m. Friday. The utility, which gave the all clear Friday afternoon, said it needs to inspect and repair any damaged lines, poles and towers before it can restore service.

The deliberate blackout, which began Wednesday evening across the Sierra foothills and parts of the Bay Area, is the third engineered in about a month by PG&E as strong winds buffeted portions of Northern California. PG&E imposes power outages to reduce wildfire risks during fierce windstorms and other hazardous weather incidents.

The latest outage covers parts of 24 counties. It was originally set to affect 53,000 customers, but PG&E said it was able to spare 12,000 customers through deployment of microgrids and other systems that can bring temporary power to localized areas. In addition, the utility said the winds weren’t as widespread as initially feared.

The power outages represent a balancing act on PG&E’s part. The utility infuriated Gov. Gavin Newsom and other officials last fall when a series of shutoffs left hundreds of thousands of Californians in the dark. At the same time, the company was driven into bankruptcy last year by wildfire liabilities and is under intense pressure to avoid sparking new fires.

PG&E faces new liabilities of as much as $600 million in connection with last October’s Kincade Fire in Sonoma County — which was blamed on faulty PG&E transmission equipment that stayed electrified even though a blackout was in effect. Separately, the company is under investigation in connection with the Zogg Fire, which killed four people in Shasta County last month.

This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 7:44 AM.