PG&E Moving Forward with Power Shutdowns to 179,000 Customers in Northern California

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PG&E has confirmed the latest round of power shutdowns for Northern California will indeed take place, with most customers being affected on Wednesday and Thursday this week.

The shutoff is expected to impact approximately 179,000 customers in 17 counties: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Kern, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Mateo, Sierra, Sonoma, Tehama and Yuba.

The power shutdowns come as the National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Fire warning for areas of NorCal:

Here’s the approximate timeline that PG&E customers can expect:

  • The shutoffs are expected to begin around 2 p.m. in the Sierra Foothills, 3 p.m. in the North Bay counties, and approximately 1 a.m. Thursday in affected areas of San Mateo and Kern counties.
  • Forecasts indicate the peak period of winds should end about noon Thursday in the Sierra Foothills, North Bay and San Mateo County, and around noon Friday in Kern County.
  • Once the high winds subside, PG&E will inspect the de-energized lines to ensure they were not damaged during the wind event, and then restore power. PG&E will safely restore power in stages as quickly as possible, with the goal of restoring the vast majority of customers within 48 hours after the weather has passed.

The embattled power company has been stuck between a rock and a hard place since the revelations that it’s equipment was the cause of multiple deadly and devastating wildfires in NorCal since 2017. The company has paid the fire victims billions of dollars, and is now implementing power shutdowns to avoid being the cause of another costly fire incident.

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