Nevada County power outages may last into next week for some PG&E customers
GRASS VALLEY -- As of Friday afternoon, thousands of Pacific Gas and Electric customers in Nevada County were still without power as crews worked to fix issues before the next major snowstorm rolls in over the weekend.
Around 17,000 people in Grass Valley and Nevada City didn't have power Friday afternoon, though, some were hopeful they'd have it back on before Saturday afternoon. Others likely won't have power back until March 6 or 7, according to a PG&E Spokesperson.
The fear of no power into next week takes into consideration the weekend storm and potential issues or outages that may be caused by more snow. Right now, there are a thousand people working for PG&E to return power to customers in Nevada County. Every hour, "hundreds more" are back online, according to a PGE spokesperson.
"Hundreds of issues, each one of those has to be assessed and then we have to bring crews out there," said Paul Moreno, PG&E spokesperson.
Moreno explained some of the challenges that come with the area and the recent low-elevation snow storm is that some of the power lines and issues are not easily accessible and must be accessed with snow equipment to even asses the problem. He said the amount of snow and weight on tree branches has contributed to trees falling on power lines in the region.
Moreno said PG&E's goal to underground 10,000 miles of power lines in high fire-risk areas has a second benefit in the winter season, as in those areas, downed trees and heavy snow would not impact power lines in the same way. In 2022, PG&E undergrounded 180 miles of power lines and is currently working on a project in the region of El Dorado County.
Getting Answers: Resources for Nevada County PG&E customers without power
PG&E partners with organizations to support the needs of customers who are without power. It's recommended to call 211 to get in touch with local agencies that offer the necessary resources in winter storms and for PG&E customers without power.
The online outage map also provides up-to-date information on current outages. There are also resources on PGE's website that outline guidance for power and gas outages.