PG&E's Emergency Operations Center is Open
and Company Meteorologists and Operations Professionals are
Monitoring the Situation
OAKLAND,
Calif., Oct. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Gas
and Electric Company (PG&E) meteorologists and operations
professionals are monitoring a potential wind event forecasted to
enter parts of our service area around noon on Thursday and exit as
late as midday Saturday. Given the forecasted strong winds and
current dry vegetation conditions, PG&E has begun sending
advanced notifications to customers—via text, email, and automated
phone call—in targeted areas where power may need to be proactively
shut off for safety to reduce wildfire risk. The duration and
extent of power outages will depend on the weather in each area,
and not all customers will be affected for the entire period.
The potential Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) event could
affect approximately 28,000 customers in small portions of several
counties, including areas in the North Bay, East Bay, Central
Coast, and Sierra Nevadas. PG&E's in-house meteorologists,
Emergency Operations Center, and Hazard Awareness & Warning
Center (HAWC) continue to monitor conditions closely and will share
additional customer notifications as conditions evolve.
When possible, PG&E representatives will make individual,
in-person visits to customers enrolled in the company's Medical
Baseline Program who do not verify they have received these
important safety communications, with a primary focus on customers
who rely on electricity for critical life-sustaining
equipment.
Potentially Affected Customers, Counties
Customers can look up their address online to find out if their
location is being monitored for the potential safety shutoff at
www.pge.com/pspsupdates.
The potential shutoff is currently expected to affect
approximately 28,000 customers across the following
counties:
- Alameda County: 28 customers,
1 Medical Baseline customer
- Alpine County: 564 customers,
10 Medical Baseline customers
- Amador County: 55 customers, 2
Medical Baseline customers
- Butte County: 648 customers,
51 Medical Baseline customers
- Calaveras County: 2,346
customers, 59 Medical Baseline customers
- Colusa County: 605 customers,
30 Medical Baseline customers
- Contra Costa County: 805
customers, 49 Medical Baseline customers
- El Dorado County: 984
customers, 28 Medical Baseline customers
- Fresno County: 1,151
customers, 73 Medical Baseline customers
- Glenn County: 511 customers,
21 Medical Baseline customers
- Lake County: 168 customers, 8
Medical Baseline customers
- Madera County: 2,901
customers, 216 Medical Baseline customers
- Mariposa County: 640
customers, 15 Medical Baseline customers
- Mendocino County: 10
customers, 4 Medical Baseline customers
- Merced County: 27 customers, 0
Medical Baseline customers
- Monterey County: 576
customers, 21 Medical Baseline customers
- Napa County: 649 customers,17
Medical Baseline customers
- Nevada County: 808 customers,
16 Medical Baseline customers
- Placer County: 1,175
customers, 26 Medical Baseline customers
- Plumas County: 658 customers,
27 Medical Baseline customers
- San Luis Obispo County: 128
customers, 4 Medical Baseline customers
- Santa Barbara County: 106
customers, 2 Medical Baseline customers
- Shasta County: 1,417
customers, 87 Medical Baseline customers
- Sierra County: 972 customers,
41 Medical Baseline customers
- Solano County: 2,467
customers, 196 Medical Baseline customers
- Sonoma County: 707 customers,
19 Medical Baseline customers
- Stanislaus County: 27
customers, 0 Medical Baseline customers
- Tehama County: 2,872
customers, 275 Medical Baseline customers
- Tuolumne County: 3,823
customers, 175 Medical Baseline customers
- Yolo County: 262 customers, 15
Medical Baseline customers
Here's what PG&E customers should know:
Why PG&E Calls a PSPS Event
PG&E initiates PSPS when the fire-weather forecast is severe
enough that people's safety, lives, homes and businesses may be in
danger of wildfires. Our overarching goal is to stop
catastrophic wildfires by proactively turning off power in targeted
areas when extreme weather threatens our electric grid. We
recognize that PSPS outages create hardships for our customers and
communities. Our sole focus is to keep our customers
safe.
As each weather situation is unique, we carefully review a
combination of factors when deciding if power must be turned off.
These factors include but are not limited to:
- Low humidity levels, generally 30% and below.
- A forecast of high winds, particularly sustained winds above 19
miles per hour and wind gusts above 30-40 miles per hour.
- Condition of dry material on the ground and low moisture
content of vegetation.
- A Red Flag Warning declared by the National Weather
Service.
- Real-time ground observations from our crews working across the
service area.
Our decision-making process also accounts for the presence of
trees tall enough to strike powerlines.
This set of criteria is a first step which may lead to further
analysis by our meteorology team to determine if a PSPS event is
necessary.
Here's Where to Learn More
- PG&E's emergency website (www.pge.com/pspsupdates) is now
available in 16 languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog,
Russian, Vietnamese, Korean, Farsi, Arabic, Hmong, Khmer, Punjabi,
Japanese, Thai, Portuguese and Hindi. Customers have the
opportunity to choose their language of preference for viewing the
information when visiting the website.
- Customers are encouraged to update their contact information
and indicate their preferred language for notifications by visiting
www.pge.com/mywildfirealerts or by calling 1-800-743-5000, where
in-language support is available.
- Tenants and non-account holders can sign up to receive PSPS ZIP
Code Alerts for any area they you do not have a PG&E account by
visiting www.pge.com/pspsupdates.
- At PG&E's Safety Action Center
(www.safetyactioncenter.pge.com) customers can prepare for
emergencies. By using the "Make Your Own Emergency Plan" tool and
answering a few short questions, visitors to the website can
compile and organize the important information needed for a
personalized family emergency plan. This includes phone numbers,
escape routes and a family meeting location if an evacuation is
necessary.
PG&E's Commitment to Wildfire Safety
Using advanced technologies and rebuilding the electric system
from the underground up, we are preventing wildfires, improving
reliability and reducing costs over the long term. We are building
the energy grid of the future that our customers deserve while also
taking immediate steps to keep customers safe.
Our wildfire prevention work relies on layers of protection to
make our system safer and more resilient while positioning us to
better serve our customers in the short and long term. These tools
help us respond to our state's evolving climate
challenges:
- Our 10,000-mile Undergrounding Program is the largest effort in
the U.S. to underground powerlines as a wildfire risk reduction
measure.
- In addition to undergrounding, we are strengthening the
electric system with stronger poles and covered powerlines in and
near high fire-risk areas.
- Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings (EPSS) decrease ignitions
and provide wildfire protection to all customers living in high
fire-risk areas.
- We continue to reduce the impact of PSPS. While there were no
weather-driven PSPS outages in 2022, it continues to be a top focus
for our team.
- We are managing trees and other vegetation located near
powerlines that could cause a power outage and/or ignition.
- We are also investing in advanced tools and technologies like
artificial intelligence and drones that help us automate fire
detection and response.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E
Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric
utility serving more than 16 million people across 70,000 square
miles in Northern and Central
California. For more information, visit pge.com
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SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company