PG&E PSPS Oct. 26 10:00 PM Update: More Than 156,000 Customers Have Been Restored Since Monday Morning, With Essentially All Other Customers Expected to Have Power Back On by Tuesday Night

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) restored power Monday night by 10:00 PM to more than 156,000 of the approximately 345,000 customers impacted by the Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) that started Sunday morning on Oct. 25. All remaining customers—approximately 189,000—are expected to have power back on late Tuesday evening.

PG&E crews began restoring power to customers where no damage or hazards to electrical equipment were found during inspections that began as early as Monday morning in locations where the weather “all clear” was received. In areas where equipment was damaged by the severe wind event, crews worked safely and as quickly as possible to make the repairs and restore those customers.

Today, PG&E meteorologists issued a weather “all clear” for most of the areas impacted by this PSPS event. To fully restore service, PG&E crews will need to complete their patrols of over 17,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines for damage or hazards.

The patrol and inspection efforts include nearly 1,800 on-the-ground personnel, 65 helicopters and one airplane. Preliminary data shows at least 13 instances of weather-related damage and hazards in the PSPS-affected areas. Examples include downed lines and vegetation on power lines. If PG&E had not de-energized power lines, these types of damage could have caused wildfire ignitions.

PSPS Restoration

PG&E has restored 156,000 customers today and expects all remaining customers to have power back on late Tuesday evening. Restoration may be delayed for some customers if there is 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 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 isolate the damaged area from the rest of the system so other parts of the system can be energized.
3. Restore – Once the system is 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 recorded as follows:

More Information on PG&E PSPS Events

PG&E’s goal is to have essentially all customers affected by the PSPS who can receive power restored within 12 daylight hours of the weather “All Clear” for each affected area.

PG&E uses a PSPS only as the last resort to protect community and customer safety against wildfires, given dry and windy weather, dry vegetation and an elevated fire risk across portions of its service area.

PG&E will submit a report detailing damage from the severe weather to the California Public Utilities Commission within 10 days of the completion of the PSPS.

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

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.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201026005959/en/