PSPS Update: PG&E Thanks Customers for Patience During Public Safety Power Shutoffs Prompted by Historic Wind Events
November 01 2019 - 8:20PM
Business Wire
Hundreds of Incidents of Weather-Related
Damages and Hazards Identified in Post-PSPS Inspections
Crews Working to Restore Gas, Electric
Service to Customers Impacted by Kincade Fire
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) reported today that
it has restored power to nearly all customers who were de-energized
during the October 26 and 29 Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS)
events.
The company acknowledged that turning off power for public
safety presents a real hardship for customers and communities, but
it is a necessary tool in combatting the risk of catastrophic
wildfire sparked by electrical equipment during periods of extreme
weather.
“We thank our customers for their patience and understanding. No
one wants a PSPS, but it is necessary to protect our customers and
communities,” said PG&E Corporation CEO and President Bill
Johnson. “We’re also grateful to our state, county, local and
tribal agency partners, the heroic first responders fighting fires
and keeping our communities safe, and our PG&E employees,
contractors and mutual aid support who worked around the clock to
restore power safely and as quickly as possible.”
“We are immediately integrating lessons learned and listening to
our customers and other stakeholders on how to improve the PSPS
process,” said Andy Vesey, CEO and President of Pacific Gas and
Electric, the head of utility operations. “We’re focused on
continuous improvement – better coordination, better communication,
minimizing the number of customers affected, and improving our
support for those customers.”
Combined, nearly 1.1 million customers were impacted by the
consecutive PSPS events on Oct. 26 and Oct. 29, which spanned
multiple regions in PG&E’s service area. For the Oct. 26 PSPS,
wind gusts topping 100 mph were recorded in Sonoma and 70 mph or
more in Butte, Santa Cruz and Sierra counties. For the Oct. 29
safety shutoff, wind gusts were recorded in excess of 70 mph in
Kern County and 65 mph in Sonoma County.
About 200 customers remained without power as of 4 p.m.
today.
To date, PG&E has identified at least 156 instances of
weather-related damage from the Oct. 26 and Oct. 29 power shutoffs,
and the company is verifying hundreds more damage reports. These
types of damages and hazards could lead to potential wildfire
ignitions if power lines were not de-energized. Examples include
downed lines and vegetation on power lines. PG&E will submit a
report detailing the damages to the California Public Utilities
Commission within 10 days of the completion of the PSPS.
At the height of the event, PG&E had 76 Community Resource
Centers (CRC) open, which provided customers with restrooms,
bottled water, charging stations for electronics and
air-conditioned seating. More than 15,000 customers used the CRCs
during the recent power safety shutoffs.
Restoring Gas Service to Customers Impacted by Kincade
Fire
PG&E crews continue to conduct gas safety checks and restore
gas service to customers in areas of Sonoma County impacted by the
Kincade Fire, where evacuations have been lifted. As of 10 a.m.
today (Friday, Nov. 1), gas service has been restored to
approximately 4,500 customers in Cloverdale, Forestville,
Geyserville, Graton, Healdsburg, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol and
Windsor. There are approximately 560 homes where PG&E has not
been able to gain entry or contact customers. PG&E reminds its
customers that they need to provide access to Gas Service
Representatives to conduct gas safety checks and relight pilot
lights once gas service is restored.
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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