PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff Could Impact More Than 600,000 Customers Across California

PG&E said Monday that they could begin implementing a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) to more than 600,000 customers across portions of nearly 30 northern, central, coastal and Bay Area counties.

Locally, the shutoff could impact 40,219 Contra Costa customers in San Ramon, Orinda, Lafayette, Moraga, Pinole, Richmond, Kensington, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, El Cerrito, El Sobrante, Berkeley, Canyon, San Pablo, Pittsburg, Rodeo, Concord, Albany, Antioch, Martinez.

This would be a precautionary measure to reduce the risk of wildfire in these communities.

If PG&E decides to implement a PSPS, the company expects to begin turning off power for safety early Wednesday morning. Based on the latest weather forecasts and models, PG&E anticipates the period of peak winds will occur from early Wednesday morning and last through Thursday midday.

“This is shaping up to be one of the most severe dry wind events we’ve seen in our territory in recent years and we want our customers to be prepared for an extended outage that may last several days. Our meteorological and operations teams continue to actively monitor the weather and this evolving situation, and we are working directly with state and local agencies to help prepare our customers and the public for this safety event,” said Michael Lewis, senior vice president, PG&E Electric Operations. “We want our customers to be aware that, based on this number, it could take several days to fully restore power after the weather passes and safety inspections are completed.”

Customers may be affected by a power shutoff even though they are not experiencing extreme weather conditions in their specific location. This is because the electric system relies on power lines working together to provide electricity across cities, counties and regions.

Customer impacts may include:

• Alameda (32,613) – Oakland, Castro Valley, Fremont, Union City, Berkeley, Hayward, San Leandro, Sunol, Pleasanton, Livermore
• Alpine (633) – Bear Valley
• Amador (16,041) – Pioneer, Jackson, Sutter Creek, Pine Grove, Plymouth, Volcano, Fiddletown, River Pines, Amador City, Drytown, Martell, Ione
• Butte (29,907) – Oroville, Chico, Magalia, Paradise, Berry Creek, Forest Ranch, Palermo, Bangor, Cohasset, Butte Meadows, Clipper Mills, Forbestown, Stirling City, Feather Falls, Biggs, Brush Creek, Yankee Hill, Gridley, Rackerby, Butte Valley, Hurleton, Paradise Pines
• Calaveras (23,748) – Arnold, Angels Camp, Copperopolis, Murphys, San Andreas, West Point, Mountain Ranch, Mokelumne Hill, Rail Road Flat, Vallecito, Wilseyville, Hathaway Pines, Avery, Glencoe, Douglas Flat, Sheep Ranch, White Pines, Dorrington, Camp Connell, Tamarack, Altaville, Valley Springs
• Colusa (1,813) – Arbuckle, Stonyford, Williams, Sites, Maxwell
• Contra Costa (40,219) – San Ramon, Orinda, Lafayette, Moraga, Pinole, Richmond, Kensington, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, El Cerrito, El Sobrante, Berkeley, Canyon, San Pablo, Pittsburg, Rodeo, Concord, Albany, Antioch, Martinez
• El Dorado (51,284) – Placerville, El Dorado Hills, Pollock Pines, Cameron Park, Camino, Rescue, El Dorado, Somerset, Cool, Shingle Springs, Georgetown, Garden Valley, Diamond Springs, Pilot Hill, Grizzly Flats, Twin Bridges, Greenwood, Kyburz, Lotus, Kelsey, Mount Aukum, Coloma, Pacific House, Fair Play, Omo Ranch, Silver Fork, Canyon, Aukum
• Glenn (1,590) – Orland, Willows, Artois, Elk Creek, Glenn
• Lake (26,430) – Clearlake, Lakeport, Clearlake Oaks, Lucerne, Nice, Upper Lake, Lower Lake, Middletown, Kelseyville, Cobb, Hidden Valley Lake, Glenhaven, Witter Springs, Clearlake Park, Loch Lomond
• Mariposa (1,812) – Coulterville, La Grange, Greeley Hill, Mariposa
• Mendocino (6,000) – Ukiah, Potter Valley, Hopland, Redwood Valley, Willits, Boonville, Calpella, Talmage, Fort Bragg
• Napa (32,124) – Napa, Saint Helena, Calistoga, Angwin, Pope Valley, Rutherford, Oakville, Deer Park, Lake Berryessa, Yountville, American Canyon
• Nevada (43,217) – Napa, Saint Helena, Calistoga, Angwin, Pope Valley, Rutherford, Oakville, Deer Park, Lake Berryessa, Yountville, American Canyon
• Placer (51,641) – Auburn, Lincoln, Loomis, Colfax, Newcastle, Foresthill, Granite Bay, Meadow Vista, Penryn, Rocklin, Applegate, Alta, Dutch Flat, Emigrant Gap, Weimar, Gold Run, Baxter, Roseville, Sheridan, Christian Valley
• Plumas (803) – La Porte, Quincy, Belden, Storrie, Twain, Bucks Lake, Tobin
• San Mateo (14,766) – Half Moon Bay, El Granada, Woodside, Moss Beach, Montara, Portola Valley, Pescadero, La Honda, Redwood City, San Gregorio, Loma Mar, San Mateo, Menlo Park, Emerald Hills, Pacifica, Princeton
• Santa Barbara (32) – Santa Maria
• Santa Clara (38,123) – San Jose, Morgan Hill, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Redwood Estates, Milpitas, Sunnyvale, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Coyote, Gilroy, Mount Hamilton, Palo Alto, Holy City
• Santa Cruz (32,017) – Aptos, Boulder Creek, Watsonville, Scotts Valley, Soquel, Ben Lomond, Felton, Santa Cruz, Los Gatos, Mount Hermon, Brookdale, Davenport, Capitola, Freedom, La Selva Beach, Corralitos, Saratoga, Bonny Doon
• San Joaquin (52) – Vernalis, Tracy, Stockton, Farmington
• Shasta (27,960) – Redding, Anderson, Shingletown, Palo Cedro, Cottonwood, Lakehead, Millville, Bella Vista, Oak Run, Whitmore, Igo, Round Mountain, Montgomery Creek, Big Bend, Shasta Lake, Ono, Shasta, Burney
• Sierra (1,165) – Sierra City, Downieville, Alleghany, Goodyears Bar, Pike City
• Solano (32,862) – Fairfield, Vacaville, Suisun City, Vallejo, Dixon
• Sonoma (66,289) – Santa Rosa, Sonoma, Petaluma, Healdsburg, Cloverdale, Glen Ellen, Penngrove, Geyserville, Kenwood, Rohnert Park, Windsor, Annapolis, Stewarts Point, Cotati, Cazadero, Guerneville, Larkfield, El Verano, Boyes Hot Springs, Fulton, Bodega Bay
• Stanislaus (1,088) – Westley, Grayson, Patterson, Oakdale, Knights Ferry, La Grange, Modesto, Riverbank
• Tehama (24,374) – Red Bluff, Los Molinos, Gerber, Corning, Mineral, Paynes Creek, Manton, Vina, Tehama, Mill Creek, Paskenta, Proberta, Flournoy
• Tuolumne  (34,413) – Sonora, Groveland, Twain Harte, Jamestown, Tuolumne Mi Wuk Village, Pinecrest, Columbia, Soulsbyville, Long Barn, Strawberry, Chinese Camp, Cold Springs, Moccasin, Big Oak Flat, Sierra Village
• Yolo (5,791) – Winters, Esparto, Guinda, Capay, Brooks, Madison, Rumsey, Woodland, Davis, Dunnigan, Zamora
• Yuba (6,919) – Marysville, Browns Valley, Oregon House, Brownsville, Wheatland, Dobbins, Camptonville, Smartville, Challenge, Rackerby, Strawberry Valley, Loma Rica

Customer support

To support customers who would be impacted by Wednesday’s potential PSPS event, PG&E is planning to open Community Resource Centers across the affected areas.

The Resource Centers will be open during daylight hours only and will provide restrooms, bottled water, electronic-device charging and air-conditioning.

Customers are encouraged to visit pge.com/pspsupdates for the most up-to-date Public Safety Power Shutoff information, including addresses for the Community Resource Centers as they open and a link to an address look-up tool where customers can search their address for potential impacts.

Inspection and restoration process

PG&E cannot begin restoring power until the weather conditions subside.

Steps to restoration after a PSPS event include:

• Weather All Clear
  • After the dry and windy weather has passed and it’s safe to do so, our crews can go into the field to begin patrols and inspections.
• Patrol and Inspect
  • Our crews will work to visually inspect our power lines to look for potential weather-related damage to the lines, poles and towers. This is done by vehicle, foot and air.
• Visual inspections are necessary since circuit breakers, reclosing devices and fuses that are typically used to help detect any potential damage from a weather event like a winter storm are also de-energized during a Public Safety Power Shutoff for safety reasons.

• There are many challenges we face during inspections. Some locations require workers to travel on narrow access roads. In locations with no vehicle access, crews might need to hike in remote and mountainous areas to inspect equipment. And, at night, the company can’t fly helicopters for visual inspections.
• Isolate and Repair Damaged Equipment
  • Where equipment damage is found, crews will work to isolate the damaged area from the rest of the system so other parts of the system can be restored.
• Begin restoring power to customers within the PSPS event.

How customers can prepare

As part of PSPS preparedness efforts, PG&E is asking customers to:

• Update their contact information at pge.com/mywildfirealerts or by calling 1-866-743-6589 during normal business hours. PG&E will use this information to alert customers through automated calls, texts, and emails, when possible, prior to, and during, a Public Safety Power Shutoff.
• Plan for medical needs like medications that require refrigeration or devices that need power.
• Identify backup charging methods for phones and keep hard copies of emergency numbers.
• Build or restock your emergency kit with flashlights, fresh batteries, first aid supplies and cash.
• Keep in mind family members who are elderly, younger children and pets. Information and tips including a safety plan checklist are available at pge.com/wildfiresafety.

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