Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today announced that it
delivered record electric reliability to its customers for the sixth
straight year. Since 2009, the utility has consistently reduced the
average duration of power outages. Additionally, customers experienced
the fewest number of outages in company history in 2014.
“We know how important reliable service is to our communities, our
economy and our quality of life. This is why PG&E has been making
substantial investments to improve the reliability of our service. Our
record-setting numbers over the past six years show that our electric
team’s dedication is making a difference," said Chris Johns, president
of PG&E.
“As a company, we strive to provide our customers with service that is
safe, reliable, affordable and clean. Of course, this electric
reliability achievement comes as a direct result of the hard work and
tireless dedication of the men and women of Electric Operations who are
consistently focused on meeting the needs of the communities we serve.
I’m incredibly proud of everything they have achieved, as well as the
investments we’ve made—and will continue to make—to strengthen our
infrastructure and incorporate the latest smart grid technology,” said
Geisha Williams, PG&E’s executive vice president of Electric Operations.
PG&E has integrated a wide range of advanced communications and control
technologies throughout its electric grid to help enhance the resiliency
of the system and to help identify and restore power outages more
quickly.
SmartMeters™
SmartMeters™ play an important role in PG&E’s response to power
outages. The utility receives SmartMeter™ data within seconds of an
outage to help employees quickly determine the scope and level of
response needed. They also help identify the location of an outage to
reduce the amount of time it takes for restoration crews to arrive on
scene.
Smart Grid
PG&E is also installing advanced automated technology on power lines
throughout its service area. This technology can automatically
“self-heal” the grid by re-routing the flow of electricity around a
damaged power line and effectively restore power to the majority of
impacted customers within minutes. These systems have been installed on
nearly 20 percent of PG&E’s electrical distribution circuits and have
helped the company avoid more than 60 million customer outage minutes
since the program began in 2012.
New Distribution Control Centers
PG&E is also constructing state-of-the-art electric distribution control
centers that will manage the more than 140,000 miles of electric
distribution system throughout northern and central California. These
facilities will be the nerve centers of the grid that deliver energy to
individual homes and businesses. The first control center opened in
Fresno in late 2014 and is equipped with systems that support not only
today's current smart grid technology, but will also support future
upgrades as well. An additional facility is expected to open this year
in Concord, California.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E
Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas
and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco,
with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the
nation’s cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and
Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com
and www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/index.page.
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