SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Dec. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- With a major wind storm now heading toward Northern and Central California, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is reminding customers that power outages may occur this week due to high winds and snowfall in certain areas. Winds are expected to be 40 to 50 miles per hour with gusts up to 70 miles per hour in the higher terrain. These conditions could cause vegetation and other debris to bring down power lines, damage equipment and interrupt electric service throughout the region. In order to ensure that service is restored to impacted customers safely and as quickly as possible, PG&E is activating its emergency centers, implementing its emergency preparedness plans and utilizing advanced technology.

"As the winds pick up throughout our service area, PG&E has mobilized resources in the impacted areas, and they are prepared when winds subside to restore service safely and as quickly as possible," said Gregg Lemler, vice president of electric transmission operations for PG&E. "We also encourage our customers to have a personal or family preparedness plan in place to ensure that they are as prepared as possible for every type of weather event."

PG&E routinely practices its preparedness and response to storms and other emergencies through company exercises and drills with local first responders. The company also utilizes the latest technology to restore power more quickly and efficiently after a storm. This includes the use of storm outage prediction models, the installation of automated equipment that "self-heals" the electric grid as well as timely and accurate outage data from its network of more than 5.2 million electric SmartMeters™. The utility also deploys vegetation management crews throughout the year to trim branches that could come into contact with power lines during a storm.

PG&E urges customers to stay safe during storms and remember the following safety tips:

• Always treat low hanging and downed power lines as if they are energized and extremely dangerous. Keep yourself and others away from them. Be aware that trees, pools of water and other objects may be energized and dangerous if they make contact with power lines. If you see damaged power lines or electrical equipment, call 911 immediately and then notify PG&E at 1-800-743-5002.
• Secure outdoor furniture, lightweight yard structures and decorative lawn items that can be blown by high winds to prevent them from damaging power lines and your home.
• During a power outage, use battery-operated flashlights, and not candles, due to the risk of fire. If you must use candles, please keep them away from drapes, lampshades, holiday trees and small children. Do not leave candles unattended.
• Customers with generators should make sure they are properly installed by a licensed electrician in a well-ventilated area. Improperly installed generators pose a significant danger to crews working on power lines.
• If you experience an outage, unplug or turn off all electrical appliances to avoid overloading circuits and to prevent fire hazards when power is restored. Simply leave a single lamp on to alert you when power returns. Turn your appliances back on one at a time when conditions return to normal.
• Freeze plastic containers filled with water to make blocks of ice that can be placed in your refrigerator/freezer during an outage to prevent foods from spoiling. Blue Ice from your picnic cooler also works well in the freezer.  

For more safety tips please visit www.pge.com/safety.

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 utilities 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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SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)