In Aftermath of Wildfires, PG&E Says Nearly All Electric Customers to be Restored by Late Monday with Continued Progress for ...
October 15 2017 - 9:44PM
Business Wire
More than 3,000 Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)
employees and mutual-aid partners continued to make progress today
restoring electric and gas service to customers in the aftermath of
the unprecedented wind-driven wildfires.
PG&E anticipates restoring service to essentially all
electric customers who are able to receive it, and once approval to
energize is granted, by late Monday.
By Monday morning, PG&E expects to have completed the work
necessary to ensure the safety of gas pipelines so that it can
begin restoring service to the remaining 17,000 customers who do
not presently have gas service, but are in a position to accept gas
service. This process involves working with the individual
customers to relight their pilot lights. Restoration begins once
infrastructure is repaired, and areas have been deemed safe by
relevant authorities.
“PG&E applauds and thanks all the firefighters and first
responders who continue to bravely battle these wildfires. And we
have the deepest respect for the thousands of volunteers who are
helping their neighbors get through this difficult time. In times
of crisis, the strength of community shines brightly,” said Nick
Stavropoulos, PG&E president and chief operating officer. “Rest
assured that the men and women of PG&E will be right beside our
customers and our communities throughout this process.”
As restoration efforts continue around the clock, PG&E is
maintaining an absolute focus on customer and public safety and
supporting firefighting efforts on these intense wind-fueled
wildfires.
Electric Progress
Since Monday, October 9, PG&E has restored power to more
than 92 percent of homes and businesses that have lost power during
the wildfires. Currently, there are about 21,300 electric customers
without power in the fire-impacted areas, down from 29,000 on
Friday morning.
Gas Progress
Since Monday, October 9, to protect customer and public safety,
PG&E proactively turned off gas service to about 42,000
customers in the affected areas of Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino
counties. Nearly 900 workers, from PG&E and from other energy
companies, have been working to relight pilot lights in areas where
it’s safe to do so. Over the past several days, we have restored
gas service to about approximately 21,000 customers.
Restoring gas service is a complex process, but progress is
being made. Several factors are in play including PG&E’s access
to fire zones, authorization from the proper authorities to restore
gas, and the timing of when customers are allowed to return to
their homes.
Support
The company continues to dispatch workers, supplies and
equipment from its base camps in Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake
Counties. Crews from five states are bolstering PG&E’s
workforce as part of a mutual-aid agreement.
Electric Restoration Process
- Once crews have been given permission
to enter an area by CalFIRE, PG&E crews begin the electric
assess, repair and restoration process.
- Once safe, the first step is damage
assessment. Typically, this occurs within 12 to 24 hours.
- PG&E workers will be on site to
make the area safe by isolating electrical hazards. The next steps
are equipment repairs and coordinated restoration.
- Based on needed repairs and time to
compete work, an estimated time for restoration is established and
communicated to customers.
- Prior to safely re-energizing homes and
businesses, PG&E will inspect adjacent facilities and ensure
locations are safety to receive power.
- Where safe to do so and access is
allowed, restoring service will typically take 24-48 hours
depending on the extent of damage and complexity of the work.
- Repopulation decisions to areas or
neighborhoods are made by local law enforcement.
Gas Restoration Process
- Once crews have been given permission
to enter an area by CalFIRE, PG&E crews begin the gas
restoration process.
- Once PG&E gains access to homes and
businesses, gas crews check the meter. Then, PG&E works to
identify structures that are safe to restore service and those that
have sustained too much damage to safely restore service.
Assessments begin immediately and typically occur within 24 hours
of gaining access.
- Because gas service was turned off to
customers, any air present in the pipeline system is purged to
ensure that natural gas is safely delivered to every
structure.
- Next, the system must be resupplied
with gas and pressure tested to make sure it is safe.
- PG&E gas workers visits
every home or business where gas may be safely restored to
turn the meter on, purge the pipe within the structure, check for
leaks and ensure every pilot is relit for safe operation.
- Repopulation decisions to areas or
neighborhoods are made by local law enforcement.
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 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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