News Details

Nearly 70 Community Resource Centers in 29 Counties Available to Support Customers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Due to a widespread dry, offshore wind event on Tuesday, Oct. 29, through midday Wednesday, Oct. 30, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) confirmed today that it is in the process of implementing a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) to approximately 597,000 customers in Northern and Southern Sierra, North Bay, Bay Area, Santa Cruz mountains, North Coast and Kern County. As of 1 p.m., approximately 500,000 customers are without electric service as a result of PSPS.

Approximately 400,000 customers who were originally impacted by the Oct. 26 PSPS event remain without service as part of the subsequent Oct. 29 event.

The dynamic and changing weather conditions and high fire risk means that some customers who are currently out of power from the October 26 event will remain out throughout the duration of the October 29 event. PG&E continues to analyze this wind event and the extent of shutoffs.

As of Tuesday morning, wind gusts in the 40–55 mph range are still expected across the northern Sierra and elevated terrain of the North Bay, with gusts to 35–40 mph in the East Bay and South Bay elevated terrain. While these wind predictions are less severe than the previous event, they still reach beyond the threshold that indicates potential for damage and hazards to the electric system.

Updated Restorations for Oct. 26 PSPS Event

As of 12:00 p.m. today, 573,954 customers (59%) had been restored from the October 26 shut off event in portions of the following counties: Alameda, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Placer, San Benito, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne, Yolo and Yuba.

The restoration process for this event is complicated by the number of transmission lines included in this safety shutoff. Transmission lines require a longer period of time to reenergize to ensure the integrity of the electric grid.

All affected customers in Alpine and Plumas Counties have yet to be restored from this previous Oct. 26 event. These customers, along with others in portions of additional counties, may not have the opportunity to be restored prior to today’s safety shutoff. Customers enrolled in the company’s Medical Baseline program who do not verify that they have received these important safety communications will be individually visited by a PG&E employee when possible. A primary focus will be given to those customers who rely on electricity for critical life-sustaining equipment.

October 29 Event Timeline for safety shutoffs

The times below are estimates and may change (earlier or later) dependent on the dynamic weather environment. Times below as of 12:00 p.m. on October 29, 2019:

*Adjusted overnight to 7 a.m. due to changing conditions; previously scheduled for 11 p.m. Tuesday.

October 29 Event Counties and Customers Potentially Impacted

The sole intent of a PSPS is to prevent a catastrophic wildfire sparked by electrical equipment during extreme weather events.

We know that winds generally above 45 mph are known to cause damage to the lower-voltage distribution system and winds above 50 mph are known to cause damage to higher-voltage transmission equipment.

For customers who are restored between events, PG&E urges them to use the time to charge any medical equipment, phones and other electronic devices and restock emergency kits.

How Customers Can Prepare

As part of PSPS preparedness efforts, PG&E is asking customers to:

• Plan for medical needs like medications that require refrigeration or devices that need power.
• Identify backup charging methods for phones and keep hard copies of emergency numbers.
• Build or restock your emergency kit with flashlights, fresh batteries, first aid supplies and cash.
• Keep in mind family members who are elderly, younger children and pets.
• Learn more about wildfire risk and what to do before, during and after an emergency to keep your family safe at PG&E’s Safety Action Center.

Community Resource Centers

For the Oct. 26 event, PG&E opened more than 60 Community Resource Centers across the affected area and is opening an additional six locations today. Most of these centers will remain active during the Oct. 29 event and will be open during daylight hours, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., until power has been restored. The centers provide restrooms, bottled water, ice, electronic-device charging and air-conditioned seating for up to 100. Locations of these centers are listed at www.pge.com/pspsupdates.

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 energy companies 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 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com and www.pge.com/news.

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415.973.5930

Source: Pacific Gas and Electric Company