SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. June 9, 2019 –  Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has restored power for nearly all customers located in areas of Butte and Yuba Counties impacted by the Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) in the Sierra Foothills. Since Sunday morning, PG&E has patrolled approximately 800 miles of overhead power lines and restored nearly all 21,000 customers. During inspections, crews found instances of damage to de-energized equipment caused by the extreme weather event and are making necessary repairs.

Sierra Foothills PSPS Event

PG&E had proactively turned off power for safety to nearly 21,000 customers at about 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 8. PG&E crews have completed safety patrols and inspections of approximately 800 miles of electric infrastructure in the impacted areas and restored electric service to all customers who could receive power. With power restored, the Oroville Community Resource Center will not reopen on June 10, 2019.

On Friday, June 7, PG&E notified 27,000 customers across five counties of a potential PSPS. Overnight on Saturday, PG&E meteorologists continued to monitor the weather in Nevada, El Dorado and Placer Counties, and as weather conditions improved, determined that a PSPS was no longer necessary for those areas.

North Bay PSPS Event

PG&E had proactively turned off power for safety to approximately 1,700 customers in Napa, Solano and Yolo Counties early Saturday morning. Once the extreme weather event in this area concluded, PG&E crews conducted safety patrols and inspections and completed restoration to all affected customers by Saturday evening.

“We know how much our customers rely on electric service and appreciate the communities’ understanding as we turned power off in the interest of safety during extreme weather conditions this weekend. We ask that all our customers use this event as a reminder to revisit their emergency plans and build or restock their emergency kits to prepare for potential power outages during wildfire season,” said Michael Lewis, senior vice president of Electric Operations, PG&E.

How our customers can prepare

As part of these preparedness efforts, PG&E is asking customers to:

  • Update their contact information at pge.com/mywildfirealerts or by calling 1-866-743-6589 during normal business hours. PG&E will use this information to alert customers through automated calls, texts, and emails, when possible, prior to, and during, a Public Safety Power Shutoff.
  • Plan for medical needs like medications that require refrigeration or devices that need power.
  • Identify backup charging methods for phones and keep hard copies of emergency numbers.
  • Build or restock your emergency kit with flashlights, fresh batteries, first aid supplies and cash.
  • Keep in mind family members who are elderly, younger children and pets. Information and tips including a safety plan checklist are available at pge.com/wildfiresafety.

While customers in high fire-threat areas are more likely to be affected by a Public Safety Power Shutoff event, any of PG&E’s more than 5 million electric customers could have their power shut off because the energy system relies on power lines working together to provide electricity across cities, counties and regions.

Customers can access a live outage map at pge.com/outages and learn more about the latest updates on Public Safety Power Shutoff at pge.com/pspsupdates.