Extreme Weather Update for Sierra Foothills: As Second Wave of Weather Approaches, Power to Be Turned Off for Safety to Appro...
June 08 2019 - 6:42PM
Business Wire
As First Wave of Weather Passes, PG&E
Begins Safety Inspections to Restore Power to Approximately 1,600
Customers in the North Bay
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today announced that
the company will turn off power to approximately 26,900 customers
in the Sierra Foothills Saturday night and has started safety
inspections for 1,600 customers in the North Bay whose power was
turned off early Saturday morning.
Public Safety Power Shutoff Being Executed for Sierra
Foothills at Approximately 9:00 p.m.
As part of the second wave of dry and windy weather conditions
across Northern California, PG&E continues to monitor extreme
weather conditions in the Sierra Foothills. Customers in portions
of Butte, Yuba, Nevada, El Dorado and Placer counties have been
notified by PG&E that they will have their power turned off for
safety on Saturday, June 8 at approximately 9:00 pm. This Public
Safety Power Shutoff event will impact about 26,900 customers.
Forecasts for the extreme weather conditions are expected to last
through noon on Sunday, June 9.
Areas where power will be shut off:
- Butte County: Portions of
Paradise, Oroville, Bangor, Forest Ranch, Chico, Berry Creek,
Palermo
- Yuba County: Portions of Browns
Valley, Oregon House, Marysville, Wheatland, Rackerby
- Nevada County: Portions of
Auburn, Grass Valley, Smartville, Rough and Ready, Penn Valley
- El Dorado County: Portions of
Pilot Hill, Greenwood, Georgetown, Cool
- Placer County: Portions of
Lincoln
PG&E will be contacting customers soon by phone, email and
text.
“Our Wildfire Safety Operations Center continues to monitor the
weather in the Sierra Foothills and throughout our service area. We
want to make sure all of our customers in these areas are prepared
for a Public Safety Power Shutoff by updating their contact
information with PG&E, having a personal safety plan and
reviewing their emergency kits. We ask customers and the public
prioritize their personal safety,” said Michael Lewis, PG&E’ s
senior vice president of Electric Operations.
How Our Customers Can Prepare
As part of preparedness efforts for potential Public Safety
Power Shutoffs, PG&E asks customers to:
- Update their contact information at
pge.com/mywildfirealerts or by calling 1-866-743-6589 during normal
business hours. PG&E will use this information to alert
customers through automated calls, texts, and emails, when
possible, prior to, and during, a Public Safety Power Shutoff.
- 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 emergency kits with
flashlights, fresh batteries, first aid supplies and cash.
- Keep in mind family members who are
elderly, younger children and pets. Information and tips including
a safety plan checklist are available at
pge.com/wildfiresafety.
Customer Notifications for Public Safety Power
Shutoffs
PG&E will attempt to contact customers who live in these
communities via telephone, text and email.
Customers can access a live outage map at pge.com/outages and
learn more about the latest updates on Public Safety Power Shutoff
at pge.com/pspsupdates. PG&E is working directly with CAL FIRE,
Cal OES, and other state and local agencies to help prepare for
this safety event.
As part of these preparedness efforts, PG&E has asked
customers to:
- Learn whether their home or business is
in or near a high fire-threat area on the CPUC High Fire-Threat
District map. Customers also can visit pge.com/wildfiresafety to
enter their address and find out if their home or business is
served by an electric line that may be turned off for safety during
high wildfire threats.
- Update their contact information at
pge.com/mywildfirealerts or by calling 1-866-743-6589 during normal
business hours. PG&E will use this information to alert
customers in advance of turning off their electric service for
safety, when and where possible.
- Prepare for and practice an emergency
plan to keep themselves, their families and/or employees
emergency-ready and safe during an outage. Keep in mind family
members who are elderly, younger children and pets. Information and
tips including a safety plan checklist are available at
pge.com/wildfiresafety.
PG&E remains committed to providing notice to customers in
advance of a Public Safety Power Shutoff, when possible. The
company’s goal, dependent on weather, is to send customer alerts
prior to shutting off power. PG&E will do so through automated
calls, texts and emails. The company will also use pge.com and
social media channels and keep local news and radio outlets
informed and updated.
PG&E Crews Begin Safe Restoration of 1,600 Customers
Impacted by PSPS Event
PG&E has begun safety patrols and inspections of electric
infrastructure in select areas of Napa, Solano and Yolo Counties
where it proactively turned power off for safety to approximately
1,600 customers at 6:15 a.m. on Saturday morning.
PG&E crews must patrol the area and inspect the electric
infrastructure prior to power being restored. This process begins
as soon as the extreme weather had passed, and it is safe to do so.
Inspections take place during daylight hours and, in most cases,
PG&E expects to be able to restore power within 24 to 48 hours
after the extreme weather has passed, though weather conditions or
repairs may impact restoration times.
“Now that the first wave of extreme weather in the North Bay has
passed, our crews are in the process of inspecting the power
lines and equipment to ensure it is safe to restore power. We
appreciate our customers’ and the public’s patience as we work
through this important safety step in the restoration process,”
said Lewis.
Public Safety Power Shutoff Criteria
No single factor drives a Public Safety Power Shutoff, as each
situation is unique. PG&E carefully reviews a combination of
many criteria when determining if power should be turned off for
safety. These factors generally include, but are not limited
to:
- A Red Flag Warning declared by the
National Weather Service
- Low humidity levels, generally 20
percent and below
- Forecasted sustained winds generally
above 25 mph and wind gusts in excess of approximately 45 mph,
depending on location and site-specific conditions such as
temperature, terrain and local climate
- Condition of dry fuel on the ground and
live vegetation (moisture content)
- On-the-ground, real-time observations
from PG&E’s Wildfire Safety Operations Center and observations
from PG&E field crews
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 24,000 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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