Public Safety Power Shutoff Update: Essentially All Customers Who Can Receive Electric Service Are Now Restored
September 28 2020 - 11:25PM
Business Wire
Patrols and Inspections Confirm at Least 13
Instances of Damage or Hazards to Electric Equipment During the
Strong Wind Event
About 24,000 Customers Without Power Due to the
Glass and Zogg Fires, Not from PSPS Event
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has restored power
to essentially all customers who can receive service that were
impacted by the Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) event that
started early Sunday morning on September 27.
The PSPS event was initiated due to a severe weather pattern
that included strong, dry winds coupled with elevated temperatures
in portions of the Northern and Central Sierra region. The scope of
the PSPS included nearly 65,000 customers in 15 counties,
including: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Lake, Napa,
Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Tehama and Yuba counties.
Two customers within Sonoma County were also included in this PSPS.
A few customers in Kern County had initially been included, but due
to improved weather conditions, were removed from the scope.
Once the strong winds subsided Monday morning and the weather
“all clear” was given, PG&E crews began patrols on the ground
beginning early Monday morning to inspect more than 3,915 miles of
transmission and distribution power lines for damage or hazards.
This patrol and inspection effort included nearly 1,700 ground
personnel and 50 helicopters.
PG&E crews began restoring customers in areas where they
found no damage or hazards to electrical equipment. In areas where
equipment was damaged by the severe wind event, crews worked safely
and as quickly as possible to make the repairs and restore those
customers.
Damage and Hazards Identified
Preliminary data shows 13 instances of weather-related damage
and hazards in the PSPS-affected areas. Examples include downed
lines and vegetation on power lines. If PG&E had not
de-energized power lines, these types of damage could have caused
potential wildfire ignitions.
Wildfire Response
PG&E continues to monitor the Glass and Zogg Fires and is
working closely with first responders and CAL FIRE. Approximately
24,000 PG&E customers in Napa, Sonoma, Shasta and Tehama
Counties impacted by wildfires are without power. In some
instances, power was turned off in partnership with CAL FIRE and
for the safety of firefighters in active fire areas or due to
damage caused from wildfire related impacts to equipment.
PG&E has not filed an Electric Incident Report related to
these fires, and has no information indicating that the Glass or
Zogg fire ignitions could be attributable to its facilities.
More Information on PG&E PSPS Events
PG&E’s goal is to have essentially all customers affected by
the PSPS who can receive power to be restored within 12 daylight
hours of the weather “all clear” for each affected area.
PG&E uses a PSPS only as the last resort to protect
community and customer safety against wildfires, given dry and
windy weather, dry vegetation and an elevated fire risk across
portions of its service area. Wind gusts as high as 72 mph were
recorded during this PSPS event.
PG&E will submit a report detailing damages from the severe
weather conditions to the California Public Utilities Commission
within 10 days of the completion of the PSPS.
For more information on the PSPS event, visit
pge.com/pspsupdates.
Prevention, Preparedness and Support
It is important that PG&E has your current contact
information so you can be notified and better prepared if a
wildfire or PSPS event may impact your home or business. To set up
your alerts, visit pge.com/alerts.
With the increased wildfire threat our state faces, PG&E is
enhancing and expanding our efforts to reduce wildfire risks and
keep our customers and communities safe. Our Community Wildfire
Safety Program includes short, medium and long-term plans to make
our system safer. For tips on how to prepare for emergencies and
outages, visit our Safety Action Center at
safetyactioncenter.pge.com.
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
pge.com and pge.com/news.
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