Select date

April 2024
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun

PG&E shutdowns spread across Bay Area, more may come this week

27-10-2019 < Blacklisted News 46 219 words
 

Nearly 1 million Pacific Gas & Electric Co. customers across the Bay Area and elsewhere in Northern California start their first full day without power Sunday and the utility has warned it could do another round of shutdowns if winds pick up later in the week.


The North Bay and northern Sierra foothills were among the first areas to lose power about 5 p.m. Saturday, said Mark Quinlan, the utility’s incident commander for the public safety power shutoff. Parts of the East Bay and South Bay followed, and by early Sunday PG&E’s outage map was sprinkled with dozens of neighborhoods without power.


The shutdowns affect affect well over 2 million residents in 36 counties and PG&E said it could be 48 hours before restorations begin.



And possibly before all that power is restored, yet another round of shutoffs could be activated. Andy Vesey, a PG&E executive who oversees the electric operations, said a fourth series of shutoffs is being contemplated to try to avoid downed power lines sparking new wildfires.


“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Vesey said.


PG&E said it expanded its map of affected customers in some areas because of “historic wind event” that arrived late Saturday and early Sunday.


Read More...


Print