Powerful Storm Moves through Northern and Central California Bringing Rain, Wind and Snow; PG&E Responding to Local Power Outages
December 13 2021 - 8:06PM
Business Wire
PG&E Has Pre-Positioned Nearly 400 Crews to
Restore Power Safely and as Quickly as Possible
Vegetation Crews Have Been Working Ahead of
Storms to Keep Trees and Limbs Away from Powerlines During the
Storm
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) crews are responding
to local outages from a powerful storm now moving through Northern
and Central California.
PG&E has nearly 400 power restoration crews pre-staged,
including 278 troublemen, who are the energy company’s first
responders to an outage. The company has also stockpiled power
poles, power lines, transformers, and other electric equipment at
yards throughout its service territory to help crews restore power
as quickly as possible.
PG&E has activated its Emergency Operations Center and 17
regional and local operations emergency centers to assign staff and
resources to the restoration efforts as necessary. In advance of
the storm, vegetation-management crews have been working to keep
trees and limbs away from powerlines.
Since midnight Sunday, crews have restored power to nearly
16,000 customers. As of 1 p.m. today, about 30,000 customers were
experiencing storm-related outages.
PG&E meteorologists, along with experts from the National
Weather Service, are predicting gusty winds, widespread rain, heavy
mountain snow and isolated thunderstorms will continue across the
company’s service region through much of the week.
Weather stations reported heavy rainfall and strong winds, with
gusts as high as 77 mph in Livermore in Alameda County, and rain
accumulation of nearly 10 inches over 48 hours at Middle Peak Mt.
Tam in Marin County.
High winds are expected along the Central Coast and Central
Valley through early Tuesday with gusts up to 50 mph in some areas.
Snow levels in the Sierra Nevada will also be significant above
5,000 feet, with the potential for multiple feet of snow,
particularly across the northern end of the range.
PG&E’s meteorology team uses a Storm Outage Prediction Model
that incorporates real-time weather forecasts, coupled with 30
years of historical storm data and system knowledge to show where
and when storm impacts will be most severe. This model enables the
company to pre-stage crews and equipment as storms approach to
enable rapid response to outages.
Keeping Customers Informed
PG&E knows how important it is to keep its customers
informed. Customers can view real-time outage information on its
website outage center and search by a specific address, by city or
by county. This site has been updated to include in-language
support for 16 languages.
Additionally, customers can sign up for outage notifications by
text, email or phone. PG&E will inform customers about the
cause of an outage, when crews are on their way, the estimated
restoration time, and when power is restored.
Storm Safety Tips
- Never touch downed wires: If you see a downed power
line, assume it is energized and extremely dangerous. Do not touch
or try to move it—and keep children and animals away. Report downed
power lines immediately by calling 9-1-1 and by calling PG&E at
1-800-743-5002.
- Use generators safely: Customers with standby electric
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 customers, as
well as crews working on power lines. If using portable generators,
be sure they are in a well-ventilated area.
- Use flashlights, not candles: During a power outage, use
battery-operated flashlights, and not candles, due to the risk of
fire. And keep extra batteries on hand. If you must use candles,
please keep them away from drapes, lampshades, animals, and small
children. Do not leave candles unattended.
- Have a backup phone: If you have a telephone system that
requires electricity to work, such as a cordless phone or answering
machine, plan to have a standard telephone or cellular phone ready
as a backup. Having a portable charging device helps to keep your
cell phone running.
- Have fresh drinking water, ice: 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.
- Secure outdoor furniture: Deck furniture, lightweight
yard structures and decorative lawn items should be secured as they
can be blown by high winds and damage overhead power lines and
property.
- Turn off appliances: 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.
- Safely clean up: After the storm has passed, be sure to
safely clean up. Never touch downed wires and always call 8-1-1 or
visit 811express.com at least two full business days before digging
to have all underground utilities safely marked.
Other tips can be found at www.pge.com/beprepared.
About PG&E
PG&E, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is a
combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than 16
million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central
California. For more information, visit pge.com and
pge.com/news.
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