Utility Uses Advanced Technologies to Position Crews in Hard-Hit
Areas and Restore Power to Northern and Central California Communities
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
More than 2,000 Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) personnel fanned
out across Northern and Central California over the past five days to
restore power to hundreds of thousands of customers impacted by the
first storms of 2015. Heavy rain and high winds pummeled a large swath
of the utility’s service area.
Since early morning on Friday, Feb. 6, through 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb.
10, the utility restored service to nearly all of the more than 460,000
customers who lost power. Most of the remaining customers are in parts
of Mendocino, Plumas and Shasta counties, where access for repair crews
has been hampered by rugged, remote terrain.
“Our teams have been working around the clock in difficult conditions to
respond to outages caused by the storms, and we thank everyone who lost
power for their patience. We want all of our customers to know that PG&E
is committed to getting the lights back on as quickly as possible during
storms like this, and most importantly, doing so safely,” said PG&E
President Chris Johns.
In addition to the PG&E personnel dedicated to storm response, the
utility brought in crews from Southern California, Oregon, Washington
and Arizona to assist with restoration efforts.
PG&E also used the latest technology to restore power quickly and
efficiently. This includes automated equipment that “self-heals” the
electric grid as well as timely and accurate outage data from PG&E’s
network of more than 5.2 million SmartMeters™.
Before the storms hit, the utility used a storm outage prediction model
to provide estimates on the potential timing, location and number of
outages expected—a critical tool in dispatching crews in advance. In
addition, PG&E routinely practices preparedness and response to storms
and other emergencies through company exercises and through drills with
local first responders.
For the latest information on power restoration, customers can call
PG&E’s outage information line at 1-800-743-5002. Updates are also
available through a live outage map online at http://www.pge.com/myhome/outages/outage;
through PG&E’s Twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/pge4me;
and on PG&E’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pacificgasandelectric.
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 23,000 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.
http://www.pgecurrents.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pacificgasandelectric
https://twitter.com/pge4me
http://www.linkedin.com/company/pacific-gas-and-electric-company
http://www.youtube.com/user/pgevideo
Source: Pacific Gas and Electric Company