PG&E confirms power shutoff for parts of north bay

To check if your address will be affected, visit here.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) confirmed Oct. 23 its plan to move forward with a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) in portions of the Sierra Foothills and North Bay through noon Thursday, Oct. 24. This PSPS decision was based on forecasts of dry, hot and windy weather that poses a higher risk for damage and sparks on the electric system and rapid wildfire spread.

Impacted areas include Annapolis, Boyes Hot Springs, Cloverdale, Fulton, Geyserville, Glen Ellen, Guerneville, Healdsburg (unincorporated), Kenwood, Larkfield, Santa Rosa, Sonoma and Windsor.

The shutoff is expected to impact approximately 179,000 customers in 17 counties: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Kern, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Mateo, Sierra, Sonoma, Tehama and Yuba.

For a list of impacted customer counts and cities per county, see www.pge.com/pspsupdates.

Timeline for safety shutoffs

Here’s the approximate timeline that customers can expect: 

• The shutoffs are expected to begin around 2 p.m. in the Sierra Foothills, 3 p.m. in the North Bay counties, and approximately 1 a.m. Thursday in affected areas of San Mateo and Kern counties.

• Forecasts indicate the peak period of winds should end about noon Thursday in the Sierra Foothills, North Bay and San Mateo County, and around noon Friday in Kern County.

• Once the high winds subside, PG&E will inspect the de-energized lines to ensure they were not damaged during the wind event, and then restore power. PG&E will safely restore power in stages as quickly as possible, with the goal of restoring the vast majority of customers within 48 hours after the weather has passed.

Customer notifications and impact

The company notified potentially impacted customers on Monday (48 hours prior) and again on Tuesday (24 hours prior), and will continue to notify, via automated calls, texts and emails—for those customers who’ve provided their contact information to PG&E.

It’s important to remember that customers not impacted by the PSPS may experience power outages due to PG&E equipment damaged during this wind event; those customers will not be notified in advance.

It is also possible that customers may be affected by a power shutoff even though they are not experiencing extreme weather conditions in their specific location. This is because the electric system relies on power lines working together to provide electricity across cities, counties and regions.

Community Resource Centers

To support customers in the affected areas, PG&E will open several Community Resource Centers. Restrooms, bottled water, electronic-device charging and air-conditioned seating for up to 100 will be available at these facilities. Locations are below, and more are being confirmed. View the most updated list of center locations at www.pge.com/pspsupdates.