PG&E Power Outages: 250,000 Customers Could Be Without Power This Week

More power outages are expected in California, as PG&E (PCG) is monitoring another “strong offshore wind event.” The utility said the outages could occur, beginning early Wednesday and lasting through Thursday morning.

The power outage could affect as many as 250,000 customers in 19 counties in the Sierra Foothills, North Valley, and North Bay regions. PG&E said it does not expect the power outages to affect other parts of the Bay Area.

The Public Safety Power Shutoffs are a safety measure that PG&E uses to reduce the risk of wildfires in the region. The wind event that is being monitored could change, according to the utility, which said the “no decision has been made” on whether the power outages will definitely occur at this time.

The areas that PG&E said could be impacted by the power outage as of Sunday evening, include the counties of Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Solano, Sonoma, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo, and Yuba.

The weather event is expected to produce winds up to 25 mph with gusts ranging from 30 to 50 mph and peak gust above 55 mph, according to PG&E meteorologists. Fire Weather Watches have already been issued in the PG&E service area, where vegetation is “extremely dry.”

The area of Northern Sierra has received 0.3 inches of precipitation this year, down from the average 5 inches typically recorded. In addition, temperatures are 5 to 15 degrees above average, which has been further complicated by drying winds.

PG&E said it will begin notifying customers about the power shutoffs, beginning on Monday morning by phone, text, and email. Customers can look up their address on the PG&E website and determine if the power outages will affect their residence. Additional updates will be provided by the company on Twitter, Facebook, and Nextdoor.

Shares of PG&E stock were down 3.23% as of 11:39 a.m. EST on Monday.