PG&E to go forward with Sunday power shutoff in 16 counties; small number of Lake County residents to be impacted
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said it’s planning to move forward with a public safety power shutoff on Sunday that will impact 89,000 customers in parts of 16 counties, including Lake, due to a strong and dry offshore wind event.event.
The incoming weather conditions prompted the National Weather Service to issue a red flag warning for much of Northern California from Saturday night through Monday, with Cal Fire staffing up around the region due to fire weather concerns, as Lake County News has reported.
PG&E said Saturday evening that approximately 55 Lake County customers – two of them medical baseline – will be impacted. A PG&E map of the impacted areas showed Lake County’s customers will be near the Lake and Napa County line, south of Middletown.
In neighboring Napa County, 216 customers will have their power shut off, with two customers in Sonoma County also to be included, PG&E said.
PG&E said it began making notifications to customers on Thursday about the potential for shutting off power.
The company said its first phase of deenergization will begin at 2 a.m. Sunday and impact approximately 15,000 customers.
The forecast predicts a lull in wind activity during the day on Sunday, and then escalating again Sunday late afternoon. At 4 p.m. Sunday, PG&E will begin its second phase of shutoffs to 74,000 customers, primarily in the Central Sierra region.
The PG&E map for the shutoff indicates power is to be shut off in Lake, Napa and Sonoma counties between 5 and 6 p.m. Sunday, with power restoration expected around noon on Monday.
PG&E said once the high winds subside on Monday morning, it will inspect the deenergized lines to ensure they were not damaged during the wind event, and then restore power.
The company’s plan for power restoration is to conduct it as quickly as possible; the goal is to have power back on for most customers impacted 12 daylight hours after severe weather has passed.
Customers can use an address lookup tool to find out if their location is being monitored for the potential safety shutoff at www.pge.com/pspsupdates.
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