Local
PG&E Weighs Shutoffs for 11,000 Bay Area Customers as Fire Weather Builds
PG&E says nearly 88,000 customers statewide, including about 11,000 across five Bay Area counties, could lose electricity starting Wednesday evening. The utility is monitoring dry conditions and gusts as it weighs power cuts to reduce wildfire risk.
Nearly 11,000 PG&E customers in Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties could lose power as early as Wednesday evening as the utility considers a precautionary shutoff during a statewide fire-weather event. About 88,000 customers across 29 counties are potentially affected, according to PG&E.
The company said a public safety power shutoff is a last resort intended to reduce the chance that utility equipment could spark a wildfire. PG&E was coordinating with the National Weather Service and its own meteorologists before deciding whether to cut power.
National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Merchant said dry conditions are raising fire concerns in the East Bay Hills and North Bay Mountains, where winds could reach 25 to 35 mph. He said the agency did not expect to issue red flag warnings for most of the Bay Area because stronger winds were not forecast.
PG&E spokesperson Tamar Sarkissian said crews and field staff were monitoring weather stations and on-the-ground conditions. If shutoffs go ahead, the utility would have “all hands on deck,” she said.
PG&E said it is working with more than 40 community resource centers in 23 affected counties. The centers can offer device charging, Wi-Fi, air conditioning and other supplies.
Customers can check PG&E’s online address lookup to see whether their homes are in the potential shutoff area. The utility urged people who received notices to charge devices and prepare for an outage, including by keeping ice packs and water bottles in freezers.
A safety shutoff can last longer than a routine outage. After the weather event passes, PG&E must inspect power lines on foot and by helicopter for debris, vegetation or damage before restoring service, Sarkissian said. If it happens, this would be the utility’s sixth shutoff of the year.
The potential outage comes amid ongoing scrutiny of wildfire risks from utility equipment. PG&E has been linked to deadly fires in recent years and earlier this month filed a 10-year plan to move nearly 5,000 miles of lines underground to reduce wildfire risk.