OAKLAND,
Calif., Dec. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Gas
and Electric Company (PG&E) has positioned crews and resources
across its service area to support the safe and swift response
repair to damage and restore power outages that may result from the
forecasted heavy rain and strong winds that will impact much of
Northern California beginning
today and through the weekend. The National Weather Service has
issued advisories, watches, and warnings throughout portions of the
territory; these can be viewed on the PG&E Weather
Map.
According to PG&E Meteorologist Evan Duffey, "strong winds
will arrive in the northern part of PG&E's service area Friday
with the central and southern regions seeing adverse weather follow
on Friday night and Saturday. This will be a fast-moving storm that
will also deliver significant precipitation and widespread damaging
winds. We've worked closely with our Operations teams to provide
insights and data around where the strongest impact from the storm
will take place."
PG&E uses storm outage prediction models coupled with AI and
machine learning to determine potential storm-related damage along
with the potential timing, location, and number of power outages to
pre-position storm response resources including, electric crews,
troublemen, distribution line technicians, and system inspectors
who serve as the utility's first responders, along with personnel
who will monitor electric incidents for public safety.
"Our crews are in position and prepared to safely and quickly
respond in support of our customers and hometowns following this
storm," said Peter Kenny, PG&E
Senior Vice President, Electric Operations.
PG&E has also prestaged power poles, powerlines,
transformers, and other electric equipment at yards throughout its
service area to make equipment repairs and restore power to
affected areas safely and as quickly as possible.
Keeping Customers Informed
If an outage does occur, PG&E customers can find real-time
updates via the online outage center, including status updates the
assessments, repair and estimated time of restoration.
Renters and others without a PG&E account may also use
this portal to sign up for outage notifications by text, email, or
phone.
Daily updates around storm response and restoration will be
available on PG&E Currents.
Storm Safety Tips
As PG&E follows its plan to prepare for the storm, customers
are urged to prepare their families as well.
- 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.
- Secure your outside furniture: Strong winds can
blow lawn chairs and other outdoor items into powerlines.
- 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.
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 pge.com and pge.com/news.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pge-readies-resources-crews-ahead-of-storm-bringing-heavy-rain-and-wind-to-northern-california-302331717.html
SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company