California: PG&E warns of fresh power shutoffs for 500,000 due to fire weather
Source: The Guardian and agencies
California: PG&E warns of fresh power shutoffs for 500,000 due to fire weather
Utility began notifying customers it could begin shutoffs as early as Wednesday and any blackouts would last at least 48 hours
Guardian staff and agencies
Tue 22 Oct 2019 18.40 BST
First published on Tue 22 Oct 2019 15.38 BST
Less than two weeks after cutting power to large swathes of northern California, the state’s largest utility is warning that dangerous fire weather could prompt it to shut off power again to about a half-million people.
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) began notifying customers Monday that it could begin precautionary shutoffs to parts of 16 counties as early as Wednesday, mostly in the Sierra foothills and to the north of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Any blackouts would last at least 48 hours, the utility said.
The utility is concerned that winds forecast to hit 60mph at times could throw branches and debris into power lines or topple them, sparking wildfires. PG&E equipment has been blamed for igniting several of California’s deadliest and most destructive blazes in recent years, including the deadly 2018 Camp fire. The utility, facing billions in potential claims, was forced into bankruptcy.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/oct/22/california-wildfires-power-shutoffs-pge
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PG&E says they are planning to do this for the next 10 years.
