PG&E Begins Issuing Weather ‘All Clear’ in Some Locations for Public Safety Power Shutoff Event

Rhea-AI Summary

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PCG) initiated power restoration after a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) affecting 355,000 customers across 34 counties. Improved weather allows crews to patrol 17,000 miles of lines with nearly 1,800 ground units and air support. Power restoration is expected to be complete by late Tuesday. High winds recorded included 76 mph in Sonoma and 54 mph in Napa. PG&E has opened 105 Community Resource Centers for impacted customers, providing essential services during outages.

Positive

• Initiated power restoration for 355,000 affected customers.
• Utilized 1,800 ground patrol units and air support to ensure safety.
• Expected restoration completion by late Tuesday, improving customer service.

Negative

• High winds and fire-critical weather may delay restoration in some areas.
• Significant damage repairs could extend outage duration for some customers.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has begun patrolling some lines de-energized by the Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) that started Sunday morning, Oct. 25, which affected approximately 355,000 customers in 34 counties. Due to improved weather conditions, Kern and San Joaquin Counties were removed from the scope of this PSPS.

This morning, PG&E meteorologists began issuing the weather all clear for portions of areas impacted by the PSPS. Restorations have begun where possible.

When it is safe to do so, crews will patrol over 17,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines to ensure that no damage or hazards exist before those lines can be re-energized and those customers restored. Efforts related to this PSPS event will include nearly 1,800 ground patrol units, 1 airplane and 65 helicopters.

PSPS Restoration

PG&E has begun restoring power to customers in some areas where it is safe to do so and expects to restore power to the remaining customers impacted by this PSPS event throughout the day on Monday and continue into Tuesday, with a majority of the customers restored by late Tuesday evening. In many areas, high winds and fire-critical weather will continue through Tuesday morning, so power restoration efforts cannot occur in those areas until the weather conditions improve and the fire danger subsides. Restoration may be delayed for some customers if crews are required to repair significant damage to individual lines, which could be caused by wind-blown branches and other debris.

The restoration process PG&E follows includes:

1. Patrol – PG&E crews work to look for potential weather-related damage to the lines, poles and towers. This is done by foot, vehicle and air.
2. Repair – Where equipment damage is found, PG&E crews work to isolate the damaged area from the rest of the system so other parts of the system can be restored.
3. Restore – Once the poles, towers and lines are safe to energize, PG&E's Control Center can complete the process and restore power to affected areas.
4. Notify Customers – Customers are notified that power has been restored.

For more information on the PSPS event, visit pge.com/pspsupdates.

Extreme Winds Recorded Across Service Area

Winds in de-energized areas due to PSPS were observed as follows:

County	Max recorded sustained winds (mph)	Max recorded wind gusts (mph)
Sonoma	76	89
Napa	54	82
Contra Costa	55	74
Lake	57	71
Placer	42	71
Alameda	52	66

Customer Support

As of this morning, PG&E has opened 105 Community Resource Centers (CRCs) in 32 counties to support customers when power is out at their homes. The CRCs provide ADA-accessible restrooms, hand-washing stations, medical-equipment charging, Wi-Fi, bottled water, grab-and-go bags and non-perishable snacks. PG&E updates its CRC locations regularly, click here for updates.

All CRCs will follow important COVID-related health and safety protocols including:

• Everyone in a CRC is required to wear facial coverings and maintain a physical distance of at least six feet from those who are not part of the same household.
• Everyone entering an indoor CRC will receive a temperature check.
• CRC staff are 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.

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.