2,200 PG&E Customers Without Power In Concord
LIVERMORE (CBS SF) -- Power outages that at one point Tuesday left over 10,000 PG&E customers without electrical service in the East Bay have been reduced to about 2,200.
The largest single outage started just before 3 p.m. in Livermore, and affected roughly 4,600 customers. At 5:20 p.m., crews safely restored power to all customers impacted by the outage.
Another outage in Concord started at 4:35 p.m. along Clayton Road and is currently affecting roughly 2,200 customers. The cause of that outage also remains under investigation.
Crews are working to restore service, but at this time there is no estimate for when the power will come back on.
PG&E officials earlier Tuesday said it is all hands deck during the heat wave. The utility has 150 crews in the field responding to power outages.
A morning power outage in Walnut Creek left 1,800 residents without electricity and air conditioning just as temperatures started to tick up Tuesday morning.
A downed tree limb knocked out power lines just before 7 a.m.
However, state officials say the majority of the power outages are due to the heat wave and increased air conditioning use overloading the grid.
Electric customers across California were being to conserve electricity Tuesday and Wednesday because of the heat wave.
The California Independent System Operator, which oversees the operation of the state's bulk electric system, transmission lines and electricity market, has issued a statewide Flex Alert, or a call for voluntary electricity conservation.
CAISO officials said they're expecting the highest amount of energy use statewide in ten years over the next several days.
Electric customers are urged to conserve electricity from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday.
Conservation is especially recommended during the late afternoon, when air conditioners are typically at peak use, CAISO official said.
According to CAISO officials, electric customers can help avoid power outages by turning off all unnecessary lights, using major appliances before 2 p.m. or after 9 p.m., and setting air conditioners to 78 degrees or higher.
During times of higher temperatures, demand on the power grid can be strained as air conditioner use increases. Peak usage for Tuesday and Wednesday is expected to exceed 47,000 megawatts each day in the CAISO service territory, which serves roughly 80 percent of the state's electricity customers, CAISO officials said.
More electricity conservation tips are available at www.flexalert.org.
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