More Than 5,000 Dedicated Personnel, Including
Contract and Mutual-Aid Crews, Working to Restore Power
OAKLAND,
Calif., Jan. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Gas
and Electric Company (PG&E) continues responding to the intense
series of winter storms impacting Northern and Central California and has mobilized its
largest storm response effort in company history.
This effort has enabled the restoration of more than 1.6 million
customers who lost power since the initial storm in the series
began on New Year's weekend, with about 90% of customers restored
in 24 hours. As of today at noon, just over 80,000 customers are
without power amid this historic storm system.
"PG&E teams got prepared and in position before the first
storm rolled in on New Year's Eve weekend to lessen the impact of
these storms. As we make assessments, we will restore power as
quickly as safety allows. Challenging conditions could delay our
efforts and extend our customers' outages, but we won't rest until
our last customer is safely restored," said Adam Wright, PG&E's Executive Vice President
of Operations and Chief Operating Officer.
During storms of this magnitude, PG&E concurrently begins
assessments and restoration as soon as it is safe to do so. If
restoration is not possible quickly, PG&E will provide an
estimated time of restoration (ETOR) within 24 hours for customers
who will have extended outages.
PG&E has more than 5,000 dedicated personnel currently
responding to the storm, including contractors and mutual aid from
Southern California, Canada, Colorado, Idaho, New
Mexico, Oregon,
Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming, with additional resources expected to
arrive and assist in the coming days. Hundreds of PG&E
employees are serving in the company's Emergency Operations Center
as well as in regional and divisional emergency centers.
Winter Storm Series Continues
The latest atmospheric river event impacting PG&E's service
area began overnight on Saturday, Jan.
7, with conditions intensifying again on Sunday, Jan 8. The storm delivered another round
of strong winds, heavy rain, snow, and thunderstorms that is
expected to continue through Tuesday. Additional adverse weather is
expected late this week through next weekend.
Customer Support
To support customers experiencing extended outages due to the
challenging conditions caused by the weather systems, PG&E has
provided:
- Nearly 3,500 go bags with water, snacks, a battery pack for
charging devices and blankets at warming centers in El Dorado, Humboldt, San
Mateo, Sonoma and
Yolo counties. [how can people
know where these centers are located?]
- Twenty megawatts of temporary generation currently operating
and serving about 6,300 customers. This is out of a total of 60
megawatts of temporary generation PG&E deployed throughout the
system to prepare for this storm system.
PG&E is coordinating with its community-based partners to
offer support to customers in need. PG&E partners with the
California Foundation for Independent Living Centers to offer
support for older adults and people with disabilities through the
Disability Disaster Access and Resources Program. As well, as the
California Network of 2-1-1 who can connect customers to resources
in their local communities.
Keeping Customers Informed
Customers can view real-time outage information at PG&E's
online outage center and search by a specific address, by city or
by county. This site has been updated to include support in 16
languages.
Additionally, customers can sign up for outage notifications by
text, email, or phone. PG&E will let customers know the cause
of an outage, when crews are on their way, the estimated
restoration time and when power has been restored.
Storm Safety Tips
- Never touch downed wires: If you see a downed power
line, assume it is energized and extremely dangerous. Do not touch
or try to move it—and keep children and animals away. Report downed
power lines immediately by calling 9-1-1 and then PG&E at
1-800-743-5002.
- Use generators safely: Customers with standby electric
generators should ensure they are properly installed by a licensed
electrician in a well-ventilated area. Improperly installed
generators pose a significant danger to customers, as well as crews
working on powerlines. If using portable generators, be sure they
are in a well-ventilated area.
- Use flashlights, not candles: During a power outage, use
battery-operated flashlights and not candles, due to the risk of
fire. And keep extra batteries on hand. If you must use candles,
please keep them away from drapes, lampshades, animals and small
children. Do not leave candles unattended.
- Have a backup phone: If you have a telephone system that
requires electricity to work, such as a cordless phone or answering
machine, plan to have a standard telephone or cellular phone ready
as a backup. Having a portable charging device helps to keep your
cell phone running.
- Have fresh drinking water and ice: Freeze plastic
containers filled with water to make blocks of ice that can be
placed in your refrigerator/freezer to prevent food spoilage.
- Turn off appliances: If you experience an outage, unplug
or turn off all electrical appliances to avoid overloading circuits
and to prevent fire hazards when power is restored. Simply leave a
single lamp on to alert you when power returns.
- Safely clean up: After the storm has passed, be sure to
safely clean up. Never touch downed wires and always call 8-1-1 or
visit 811express.com at least two full business days before digging
to have all underground utilities safely marked.
Other tips can be found at: Safety and Preparedness, Storm
Safety, and Safety Action Center.
To view a public briefing that took place at 12 P.M. January 9,
2023 click here. For additional media resources visit
www.pge.com/mediaresources.
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 www.pge.com/ and http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/.
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SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company