Forecasted High Wind Event Means PG&E Might Need to Proactively Turn Off Power for Safety for About 54,000 Customers in Portions of 19 Counties and Two Tribal Communities on Wednesday

Rhea-AI Summary

Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) has issued notifications regarding a potential Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) event due to a forecast of strong offshore winds, starting Wednesday evening. The PSPS could affect approximately 54,000 customers across 19 counties in Northern California, including Alameda, Butte, and Shasta. Customer notifications began two days prior, and PG&E will offer Community Resource Centers for affected individuals, emphasizing safety protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Positive

• PG&E is proactively notifying customers about potential power shutoffs, enhancing preparedness.
• Community Resource Centers will provide critical services like medical equipment charging and Wi-Fi during outages.

Negative

• Potential PSPS may disrupt power for approximately 54,000 customers, affecting their daily lives.
• Customers relying on power for medical equipment may face significant challenges during the shutoff.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) continues to monitor a potentially strong and dry offshore wind event forecasted to start Wednesday evening. Given the expected conditions, PG&E began its one-day advance notifications to customers in areas where PG&E may need to proactively turn power off for safety to reduce the risk of wildfire from energized power lines.

Potential Public Safety Power Shutoff Wednesday evening through Friday morning

The potential PSPS starting Wednesday evening could impact approximately 54,000 customers in portions of 19 counties in the Northern Sacramento Valley and adjacent elevated terrain, the Northern Sierra Nevada generally north of I-80, the North Bay mountains, and Mt. Diablo in the East Bay. Specifically, customers in portions of the following counties are being notified: Alameda, Butte, Colusa, Contra Costa, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Napa, Plumas, Santa Clara, Shasta, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo and Yuba.

The potential PSPS event is still approximately 24 hours away. PG&E’s in-house meteorologists, its Wildfire Safety Operations Center and its Emergency Operations Center, continue to monitor conditions closely and additional customer notifications will be shared over the next few days.

Customer notifications—via text, email and automated phone call—began Monday afternoon, approximately two days prior to the potential shutoff. Customers enrolled in the company’s Medical Baseline program who do not verify that they have received these important safety communications will be individually visited in person by a PG&E employee when possible. A primary focus will be given to customers who rely on electricity for critical life-sustaining equipment.

The sole purpose of a PSPS is to reduce the risk of major wildfires during severe weather. While a PSPS is an important wildfire safety tool, PG&E understands that losing power disrupts lives, especially for customers sheltering-at-home in response to COVID-19.

Potentially Impacted Counties

The potential shutoff is currently expected to impact approximately 54,000 customers in the following 19 counties:

• Alameda County: 470 customers, 24 Medical Baseline customers
• Butte County: 11,291 customers, 988 Medical Baseline customers
• Colusa County: 565 customers, 32 Medical Baseline customers
• Contra Costa County: 563 customers, 45 Medical Baseline customers
• Glenn County: 377 customers, 18 Medical Baseline customers
• Humboldt County: 298 customers, 5 Medical Baseline customers
• Lake County: 963 customers, 69 Medical Baseline customers
• Lassen County: 319 customers, 17 Medical Baseline customers
• Napa County: 4,316 customers, 175 Medical Baseline customers
• Plumas County: 781 customers, 25 Medical Baseline customers
• Santa Clara County: 236 customers, 9 Medical Baseline customers
• Shasta County: 22,760 customers, 1,794 Medical Baseline customers
• Solano County: 49 customers, 4 Medical Baseline customers
• Sonoma County: 960 customers, 35 Medical Baseline customers
• Stanislaus County: 33 customers, 0 Medical Baseline customers
• Tehama County: 7,759 customers, 665 Medical Baseline customers
• Trinity County: 458 customers, 21 Medical Baseline customers
• Yolo County: 11 customers, 0 Medical Baseline customers
• Yuba County: 1,324 customers, 96 Medical Baseline customers
• Total*: 53,533 customers, 4,022 Medical Baseline customers

*The following Tribal Community counts are included within the County level detail above.

• Cortina Rancheria Tribal community: 8 customers, 1 Medical Baseline customer
• Grindstone Rancheria Tribal community: 49 customers, 3 Medical Baseline customers

Customers can look up their address online to find out if their location is being monitored for the potential safety shutoff at www.pge.com/pspsupdates.

Community Resource Centers Reflect COVID-Safety Protocols

PG&E will open Community Resource Centers (CRCs) to support our customers. These temporary CRCs will be open to customers when power is out at their homes and will provide ADA-accessible restrooms and hand-washing stations; medical-equipment charging; Wi-Fi; bottled water; and non-perishable snacks.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, all CRCs will follow important health and safety protocols including:

• Facial coverings and maintaining a physical distance of at least six feet from those who are not part of the same household will be required at all CRCs.
• Temperature checks will be administered before entering CRCs that are located indoors.
• CRC staff will be trained in COVID-19 precautions and will regularly sanitize surfaces and use Plexiglass barriers at check-in.
• All CRCs will follow county and state requirements regarding COVID-19, including limits on the number of customers permitted indoors at any time.

Besides these health protocols, customers visiting a CRC in 2020 will experience further changes, including a different look and feel. In addition to using existing indoor facilities, PG&E is planning to open CRCs at outdoor, open-air sites in some locations and use large commercial vans as CRCs in other locations. CRC locations will depend on a number of factors, including input from local and tribal leaders. Outdoor CRCs will provide grab-and-go supply bags so most customers can be on their way quickly.

Here’s Where to Go to Learn More

• PG&E’s emergency website (pge.com/pspsupdates) is now available in 13 languages. Currently, the website is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Russian, Vietnamese, Korean, Farsi, Arabic, Hmong, Khmer, Punjabi and Japanese. Customers will have the opportunity to choose their language of preference for viewing the information when visiting the website.
• Customers are encouraged to update their contact information and indicate their preferred language for notifications by visiting www.pge.com/mywildfirealerts or by calling 1-800-743-5000, where in-language support is available.
• Tenants and non-account holders can sign up to receive PSPS ZIP Code Alerts for any area where you do not have a PG&E account by visiting pge.com/pspszipcodealerts.
• PG&E has launched a new tool at its online Safety Action Center (safetyactioncenter.pge.com) to help customers prepare. By using the "Make Your Own Emergency Plan" tool and answering a few short questions, visitors to the website can compile and organize the important information needed for a personalized family emergency plan. This includes phone numbers, escape routes and a family meeting location if an evacuation is necessary.

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 23,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit pge.com and pge.com/news.