PG&E to Shut Off Power in Napa, Sonoma Counties Due to Risk

Some PG&E customers in Napa and Sonoma counties will have their power turned off early Wednesday mnorning as part of the utility’s second Public Safety Power Shutoff, PG&E said late Tuesday.

The shutoff due to hot, dry conditions that include a fire risk will occur from 2:30 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. and affect a total of 48,200 customers in seven Northern California counties.

In Napa County, 708 customers in Calistoga, Lake Berryessa and Napa will have their power turned off. In Sonoma County, 701 customers in Santa Rosa will be part of the outage, PG&E said.

PG&E initiated its first Public Safety Power Shutoff of the season at 5 p.m. Monday, impacting about 24,000 customers in the Sierra foothills. Essentially all of those customers had their power back by 6 p.m. Tuesday, the utility said.

During that first power shutoff, PG&E said crews identified four incidents of weather-related equipment damage. 

Such inspections take place during daylight hours and, in most cases, PG&E said it expects to restore power within 24 to 48 hours after the dry and windy weather has passed. But if those conditions persist or if any repairs are needed, outages could last longer than 48 hours, the utility said.

For planning purposes, PG&E suggested customers prepare for multiple-day outages.

Here’s the breakdown by county of the PG&E shutoff scheduled for early Wednesday morning and affecting a total of 48,231 customers:

• Butte County (22,836 customers in Bangor, Berry Creek, Brush Creek, Butte Meadows, Chico, Feather Falls, Forbestown, Forest Ranch, Magalia, Oroville, Palermo, Paradise, Stirling City, Yankee Hill)
• Napa County (708 customers in Calistoga, Lake Berryessa and Napa)
• Nevada County (16,506 customers in Cedar Ridge, Chicago Park, Grass Valley, Nevada City, Penn Valley, Rough and Ready)
• Placer County (2,633 customers in Auburn, Foresthill)
• Plumas County (four customers in Storrie)
• Sonoma County (701 customers in Santa Rosa)
• Yuba County (4,833 customers in Browns Valley, Brownsville, Camptonville, Challenge, Dobbins, Loma Rica, Marysville, Oregon House, Rackerby, Smartville)

Photo Credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Source: NBC Bay Area