Time to Prepare for First Winter Storms of 2019 — PG&E Has a Plan and Wants Customers to Have a Plan
Too
The first storm series of 2019 is set to hit PG&E’s service territory this weekend and PG&E is urging its customers to
take the necessary steps to be prepared and stay safe.
PG&E meteorologists forecast gusty winds, widespread rain and heavy mountain snow on Saturday, lasting through early next
week. The weather pattern will begin to change late Friday with clouds and southerly winds, and the most significant weather
impacts are expected to begin Saturday morning. A trailing system could continue the wet and windy weather late Sunday into Monday
and Tuesday.
“We’re seeing a significant weather event headed toward our service territory and we encourage our customers to be prepared and
have a plan. Our meteorology team is closely tracking the weather and working with our team in the field to ensure we’re ready to
restore outages safely and as quickly as possible,” said PG&E meteorologist Mike Voss.
PG&E’s meteorology team has developed a Storm Outage Prediction Model that incorporates real-time weather forecasts,
historic data and system knowledge to accurately show where and when storm impacts will be most severe. This model enables the
company to pre-stage crews and equipment as storms approach to enable rapid response to outages.
Storm Safety Tips:
- Never touch downed wires: If you see a downed power line, assume it is energized and extremely
dangerous. Do not touch or try to move it—and keep children and animals away. Report downed power lines immediately by calling
911 and by calling PG&E at 1-800-743-5002.
- Use flashlights, not candles: During a power outage, use battery-operated flashlights, and not
candles, due to the risk of fire. If you must use candles, please keep them away from drapes, lampshades and small children. Do
not leave candles unattended.
- Have a backup phone: If you have a telephone system that requires electricity to work, such as a
cordless phone or answering machine, plan to have a standard telephone or cellular phone ready as a backup.
- Have fresh drinking water, ice: Freeze plastic containers filled with water to make blocks of ice
that can be placed in your refrigerator/freezer during an outage to prevent foods from spoiling. Blue Ice from your picnic cooler
also works well in the freezer.
- Secure outdoor furniture: Deck furniture, lightweight yard structures and decorative lawn items
should be secured as they can be blown by high winds and damage overhead power lines and property.
- Use generators safely: Customers with standby electric generators should make sure they are properly
installed by a licensed electrician in a well-ventilated area. Improperly installed generators pose a significant danger to
customers, as well as crews working on power lines. If using portable generators, be sure they are in a well-ventilated
area.
- Turn off appliances: If you experience an outage, unplug or turn off all electrical appliances to
avoid overloading circuits and to prevent fire hazards when power is restored. Simply leave a single lamp on to alert you when
power returns. Turn your appliances back on one at a time when conditions return to normal.
- Safely clean up: After the storm has passed, be sure to safely clean up. Never touch downed wires and
always call 811 or visit 811express.com at least two full business days before digging to have all underground utilities safely
marked.
Other tips can be found at
pge.com/beprepared
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.
Media Relations
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