PG&E Issues Weather ‘All Clear’ in Most Locations for Public Safety Power Shutoff Event
September 28 2020 - 3:27PM
Business Wire
Aerial, Vehicle and On-The-Ground Inspections,
Patrols and Restoration Work Has Begun for the Majority of Impacted
Areas with Restoration Expected for Most by Monday Night
PG&E Supporting First Responders Battling
Wildfires; About 37,000 Customers Without Power Due to Glass, Zogg
and Other Wildfires
Pacific Gas and Electric Company has begun patrols to inspect
lines de-energized by the Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) that
started Sunday morning, Sept. 27, which affected about 65,000
customers in 16 counties. This follows the end of a severe weather
pattern that included strong, dry winds coupled with elevated
temperatures in portions of the Northern and Central Sierra region.
Wind in de-energized areas due to PSPS were observed to
include:
Weather Station (county)
Event WS Max (mph)
Mt. St. Helena West (Sonoma)
61 mph sustained, 73 mph gusts
Jarbo Gap (Butte)
44 mph sustained, 72 gusts
Mt. Diablo. (Contra Costa)
52 mph sustained, 66 mph gusts
This morning, PG&E meteorologists in our Emergency
Operations Center issued a weather all-clear for most—but not
all—areas impacted by the PSPS. Crews have begun inspecting nearly
3,915 miles of transmission and distribution lines for damage or
hazards. This patrol and inspection effort will include nearly
1,700 ground personnel and 50 helicopters.
About 37,000 customers are out of power due to wildfires that
started overnight, including the Glass, Zogg and others. 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.
PSPS Restoration
Crews will inspect lines for damage or hazards caused by strong
winds and other factors. Once the lines have been inspected and any
needed repairs are made, PG&E will proceed to restore
power.
PG&E expects to restore power to the large majority of
customers impacted by this PSPS event by 11:59 p.m. Monday evening.
Restoration may be delayed for some customers if crews are required
to fix significant damage to individual lines, which could be
caused by wind-blown branches and other debris.
After severe weather has passed, PG&E inspects the electric
system for wind and debris-caused damage to make sure it is safe to
turn the power back on. The process PG&E follows includes:
- Inspect – PG&E crews work to visually inspect for
potential weather-related damage to the lines, poles and towers.
This is done by foot, vehicle and air.
- 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.
- Notify Customers – Customers are notified that power has
been restored.
For more information on the PSPS event, visit
pge.com/pspsupdates.
Customer Support
As of this morning, PG&E has opened 26 outdoor, open-air
Community Resource Centers (CRCs) in 11 counties to support
customers when power is out at their homes and will provide
ADA-accessible restrooms, hand-washing stations; medical-equipment
charging; Wi-Fi; bottled water; grab-and-go bags and non-perishable
snacks. PG&E updates its CRC locations regularly, click here
for updates.
All CRCs will follow important health and safety protocols
including:
- Facial coverings and maintaining a physical distance of at
least six feet from those who are not part of the same household
will be required at all CRCs.
- Temperature checks will be administered before entering CRCs
that are located indoors.
- CRC staff will be trained in COVID-19 precautions and will
regularly sanitize surfaces and use Plexiglass barriers at
check-in.
- All CRCs will follow county and state requirements regarding
COVID-19, including limits on the number of customers permitted
indoors at any time.
- Out of precaution due to the
wildfires, CRCs in Calistoga, Angwin, Magalia and Paradise have
been closed.
Wildfires
The start of several wildfires yesterday and overnight has
introduced new challenges for this PSPS event, and they are
directly affecting many of our customers. Here’s a quick update on
what we know:
- The Glass Fire along with the Shady and Boyson Fires in Napa
County have burned over 11,000 acres as of this morning. These
three fires are now referred to collectively as the Glass
Fire.
- PG&E has not filed an Electric Incident Report and have no
information indicating the Glass Fire ignition is attributable to
our facilities.
- Additionally, as of this morning, the developing Zogg Fire in
Shasta County has burned over 7,000 acres, burning rapidly
southwest of Redding. We continue to closely monitor this fire and
work closely with first responders. We have not filed an Electric
Incident Report and have no information indicating the Zogg Fire
ignition is attributable to our facilities.
- In total, approximately 37,000 customers are experiencing
outages related to fires and not the PSPS event.
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 23,000 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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