PG&E patrolling to reconnect Northern California homes affected by PSPS outage for fire danger
The Pacific Gas & Electric Co. has begun to reconnect homes and businesses after shutting off electricity Monday in several of 11 counties threatened by high fire danger — the first of the deliberate outages were made in the Sacramento Valley but could grow Tuesday across Northern California amid forecasts of “unseasonably hot” temperatures, high winds and dry conditions.
More than 9,000 homes and businesses were affected in Shasta and Butte counties and portions of Glenn, Colusa, Tehama and Lake counties, according to figures PG&E provides to the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
The utility said that its meteorologists gave PG&E the “all-clear” about 1:45 p.m. to “begin patrols, assess for any damage, make repairs, and making preparations to restore power safely and as quickly as possible for all customers affected.” Officials said those without power could be restored as early as 7 p.m.
The outages declared as PSPS interruptions were:
- Shasta County: 7,988 ratepayers
- Glenn, Colusa, Tehama and Lake counties: 1,041
- Butte County: 415
The utility issued the so-called Public Safety Power Shutoff warnings Monday and Tuesday for 11 counties including Colusa, Napa, Shasta and Tehama counties, among others.
PG&E forecasters say the mix of breezy winds and low humidity Monday and Tuesday in the north state combined with dry vegetation will mean heightened fire weather conditions. Those conditions should ease by mid-week, PG&E forecasters said as offshore winds ease with no other high-wind events expected heading into the weekend.
PG&E calls the power shutoffs when weather conditions such as high winds, extreme heat and low humidity or National Weather Service red flag warning endanger power lines and other utility equipment increasing the chance for wildfires.
This round of outages is the company’s third set of shutoffs this year.
Utility blamed equipment sparking wildfires
PG&E in recent years has imposed planned power shutoffs in the face of dire wildfire weather. The utility company’s equipment has been blamed for sparking some of the worst fires in state history, including the 2018 Camp Fire that devastated Paradise, and PG&E Corp. has been found liable for billions of dollars worth of destruction.
The utility since 2017 has been blamed for starting more than 30 wildfires, blazes that destroyed more than 23,000 homes and businesses and has killed more than 100 people.
Last year, the company engineered two PSPS events out of four possible scenarios it identified, according to filings with the California Public Utilities Commission. The late August and mid-September events took roughly 5,200 customers off the grid.
More information on the PSPS and how to get alerts is available on PG&E website.
This story was originally published September 30, 2024 at 9:55 AM with the headline "PG&E patrolling to reconnect Northern California homes affected by PSPS outage for fire danger."
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