SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--After receiving weather all clears in most areas today, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) crews were able to patrol, inspect, repair impacted equipment and restore power to almost 55% of the 48,000 customers impacted by the current Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) event. By late tomorrow/Thursday evening (Aug. 19), PG&E expects to restore power to essentially all customers in the remaining 8 counties who can receive service and who were affected by PSPS that began on Tuesday (Aug. 17). As of 10:00 p.m., approximately 27,000 customers have had their electric service restored.
PG&E turned off the power to these customers, the majority living in Shasta, Butte, Napa and Tehama counties, to protect their safety and the safety of their communities because of dry, gusty offshore winds that elevated the risk of wildfires in Northern California. Due to changing weather conditions Tuesday evening, PG&E was able to decrease customer impact, removing five counties from the PSPS scope of impact: Alameda, Contra Costa, Sierra, Trinity and Yuba counties.
Strong Winds Recorded Across Service Area
The wind gusts in PSPS de-energized areas with some of the largest customer impacts were observed in the following counties:
- Butte (Jarbo Gap): 56 mph
- Shasta (Wilson Hill Road): 48 mph
- Tehama (Thomes Creek): 55 mph
Restoration to Continue Thursday
PG&E began notifying customers on Wednesday when the weather system had passed and will provide continuous additional updates on Thursday about when to expect the power to turn back on for the remaining customers.
Once conditions were clear, PG&E electric crews will begin patrolling in the air, in vehicles and on foot to check de-energized lines for hazards or damage to make sure it is safe to restore power. Restoration steps include:
- Inspect: Our crews work to visually inspect for potential weather-related damage to the lines, poles and towers.
- Repair: Where equipment damage is found, PG&E crews work to isolate the damaged area from the rest of the system so other parts of the system can be restored.
- Restore: Once the poles, towers and lines are safe to energize, PG&E’s Control Center can complete the process and restore power to affected areas.
- Notification: Customers are notified that power has been restored.
Customer Support
As of this evening, 25 Community Resource Centers (CRCs) in 11 counties remain open to support customers affected by this event. View the most current list of CRCs at www.pge.com/pspsupdates. CRCs open at 8 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. for the remainder of the shutoff.
During a PSPS, PG&E opens CRCs where community members can access resources, including:
- A safe location to meet their basic power needs, such as charging medical equipment and electronic devices.
- Up-to-date information about the PSPS.
- Water, snacks and other essential items to reduce hardships to our customers.
To keep our customers and communities safe, all resource centers reflect appropriate COVID-19 health considerations and federal, state and county guidelines.
We are offering 11 outdoor sites to supplement the 14 indoor CRCs and provide more options for customers.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, 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.