Thousands of PG&E customers may be impacted by power safety shutoffs starting on election night
A dozen California counties, including in the Bay Area and Northern California, are listed under a Pacific Gas and Electric public safety power shutoff watch on election night.
PG&E said that about 15,000 of its customers could be impacted by the outage, with the earliest potentially starting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
"We recognize that Tuesday, November 5, is Election Day. PG&E has been working with state and local election officials for more than a month to prepare accordingly," PG&E said in a statement.
The polling location at Calpine Geothermal Visitor Center in Lake County is the only polling location that could be impacted by the PSPS, according to PG&E. It says that impact could begin as early as 9:30 p.m. on election night and it's working to ensure there will be a backup generator.
PG&E says no tabulation centers are currently in the scope of the potential outages.
Here's how many customers may be impacted by PSPS events Tuesday through Thursday:
- Alameda - 449
- Butte - 292
- Colusa - 604
- Contra Costa - 940
- Lake - 1,111
- Napa - 3,601
- Plumas - 3
- Santa Clara - 918
- Santa Cruz - 225
- Solano - 3,591
- Sonoma - 1,202
- Stanislaus - 27
- Tehama - 1,075
- Yolo - 363
PG&E's website says those counties are under a watch due to high winds and dry conditions. The utility's wind models are showing potential 50 mph winds over elevated terrain in the North and East Bay, with gusts in the Geysers, Mt. St. Helena and Mt. Diablo reaching near or above 70 mph.
Humidity is projected to drop to 15-30% in those areas, increasing the fire risk.
Customers who may be impacted were contacted by PG&E on Sunday night, PG&E says.