PG&E Says 850,000 Customers May Be Affected By This Weekend's Power Shutoffs Due To Severe Wind Event
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — PG&E announced Friday that approximately 850,000 customers have been notified that they may be impacted by this weekend's potential power shutoffs.
The utility said severe wind event is expected to begin impacting their service area Saturday between 6 and 10 p.m. lasting until midday Monday. This round of shutoffs may affect portions of 36 counties across the state.
PG&E said they will make their decision about the PSPS by 8 a.m. Saturday.
The utility said if the weather holds as they have forecasted, they will complete the de-energization in multiple stages. As of now, they plan to de-energize the Northern Sierra Foothills around 3 p.m, the North Bay and Mendocino area around 5 p.m., and the Bay Area, the Coast and the southern portion of the Sierra Foothills at 7 p.m. Saturday. PG&E said this plan is just tentative and could change if the weather changes.
The weather event is expected to be the most powerful California has experienced in decades, PG&E said in a news release. Widespread dry northeast winds may reach speeds between 45 to 60 miles per hour with peak gusts hitting as high as 70 miles per hour in higher elevations.
The biggest shutoffs so far happened in early October and affected nearly 750,000 customers.
PG&E said wildfire risk is even higher now due to vegetation on the ground drying out from recent wind events.
The impacted counties are as follows:
- Alameda — 57,360 affected customers
- Alpine — 66
- Amador— 19,909
- Butte— 19,152
- Calaveras — 30,396
- Colusa — 64
- Contra Costa — 48,824
- El Dorado — 56,643
- Glenn — 43
- Humboldt — 64,710
- Kern — 842
- Lake — 37,441
- Marin — 86,813
- Mariposa — 809
- Mendocino — 12,755
- Monterey — 993
- Napa — 11,294
- Nevada — 43,211
- Placer — 31,277
- Plumas — 785
- San Benito — 1,369
- San Joaquin — 372
- San Mateo — 64,932
- Santa Clara — 27,093
- Santa Cruz — 44,945
- Shasta — 28,460
- Sierra — 1,159
- Siskiyou — 51
- Solano — 10,232
- Sonoma — 92,877
- Stanislaus — 163
- Tehama — 19,238
- Trinity — 1,046
- Tuolumne — 29,454
- Yolo — 530
- Yuba — 5,502