PG&E safety shutoffs: About 21,000 Northern California customers may lose power this weekend
About 21,000 Pacific Gas and Electric customers in portions of Butte, Plumas and Yuba counties could lose their electricity this weekend in another round of the utility’s public safety power shutoffs.
PG&E Corp. on Thursday afternoon notified customers of the potential electricity shutdown, which could begin as early as Saturday evening as weather pattern develops bringing hot and dry conditions, along with high wind gusts to the region.
Those dangerous conditions produce an an increased risk for damage to the electric system that could ignite fires fueled by dry vegetation, PG&E officials said in a news release Thursday evening. The high fire risk conditions are expected to continue from Saturday evening through Sunday evening and subside Monday morning.
Restoring power to affected customers will likely take 12 daylight hours once the weather “all clear” has been given. PG&E crews need to inspect the de-energized lines to make sure they weren’t damaged during the wind event, according to the news release.
That means some customers who lose their electricity might not have their power restored until Monday evening, barring any dramatic changes to the weather forecast.
PG&E officials said this “weather event” will be localized in the Sierra Nevada foothills, and said Thursday that customers in the Bay Area and southern parts of PG&E’s service area would not be affected. On Friday, however, PG&E expanded possible shutoffs to the Bay Area on Sunday and Monday. The utility did not say what counties would be affected or how many homes could be interrupted.
PG&E customers enrolled in its Medical Baseline program who have not verified that they received notification of the potential shutoffs will be visited at home by a PG&E employee when possible, according to the news release. Officials said primary focus will be given to customers who rely on electricity for critical life-sustaining equipment.
PG&E says the utility’s in-house meteorologists and its Wildfire Safety Operations Center and Emergency Operations Center will continue to monitor conditions this weekend.
Damage found after last shutoff
In another announcement from PG&E Thursday evening, the utility says it has identified more than 80 cases of damage or hazards found on power lines that were de-energized for the public safety power shutoffs from Sept. 7 through Sept. 10.
PG&E officials said that any of these damaged power lines could have sparked a wildfire had they not been turned off due to the severe wind event that week.
PG&E came under intense criticism when the utility engineered a series of power shutoffs covering millions of Californians last fall.
The utility hoped changes to its public safety power shutoffs will reduce the number customers affected by a third in comparison to last year. PG&E officials said Thursday that the shutoffs earlier this month affected about 50 percent fewer customers “than a comparable de-energization in 2019.”
PG&E also opened 50 “community resource centers” in the blackout areas earlier this month, enabling customers to cool off in air conditioned rooms, get free bottled water and snacks and charge their cell phones.
Michael Lewis, PG&E’s Interim President, said they have worked on these improvements by integrating enhanced weather technology, boosting coordination with counties and state agencies and giving customers timely and accurate information.
“Still, we know turning off the power represents a significant hardship for our customers,” Lewis said in the news release. “Please know that we don’t take this decision lightly, and we will only initiate a PSPS as an option of last resort when severe weather that could cause a wildfire makes it absolutely necessary for public safety.”
This story was originally published September 24, 2020 at 9:02 PM.
