Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) crews are conducting safety
patrols and inspections in the Sierra Foothills, where the company
proactively turned off power for safety to approximately 20,500
customers in Butte and Yuba counties. Approximately 260 personnel must
inspect approximately 800 miles of transmission and distribution lines
as part of the restoration process, the equivalent distance from San
Francisco to Seattle, WA. Approximately 6,000 customers have had energy
restored thus far. Inspections will take place during daylight hours and
PG&E expects to be able to restore power to these customers within 24 to
48 hours.
On Friday, PG&E notified 27,000 customers across five counties of a
potential Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS). Overnight on Saturday,
PG&E meteorologists continued to monitor the weather in Nevada, El
Dorado and Placer Counties, and as weather conditions improved,
determined that a PSPS was no longer necessary for those areas.
In Butte County, the company opened a Community Resource Center to
support customers impacted by the power shutoff. The center provides
restrooms, bottled water, electronic device charging and air-conditioned
seating for up to 100 customers. The center is open 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. and
is located at:
Oroville Community Resource Center: Harrison Stadium
1674 3rd
Avenue
Oroville, CA 95965
“Now that this wave of extreme weather in the Sierra Foothills has
passed, our crews are in the process of inspecting the power lines and
equipment to ensure it is safe to restore power. We appreciate our
customers’ and the public’s patience as we work through this important
safety step in the restoration process,” said Michael Lewis, senior vice
president of Electric Operations, PG&E.
When weather conditions indicate that a PSPS may be necessary, PG&E
makes every effort to notify customers in advance that their power may
be turned off for safety. While customers in high fire-threat areas are
more likely to be affected by a PSPS, any of PG&E’s more than 5 million
electric customers could have their power shut off because the energy
system relies on power lines working together to provide electricity
across cities, counties and regions.
Customers can access a live outage map at pge.com/outages
and learn more about the latest updates on Public Safety Power Shutoff
at pge.com/pspsupdates.
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
energy companies in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more
than 24,000 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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