Forecasted High Wind Event Means PG&E Might Need to Proactively Turn Off Power for Safety for About 54,000 Customers in Portions of 19 Counties and Two Tribal Communities on Wednesday

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) continues to monitor a potentially strong and dry offshore wind event forecasted to start Wednesday evening. Given the expected conditions, PG&E began its one-day advance notifications to customers in areas where PG&E may need to proactively turn power off for safety to reduce the risk of wildfire from energized power lines.

Potential Public Safety Power Shutoff Wednesday evening through Friday morning

The potential PSPS starting Wednesday evening could impact approximately 54,000 customers in portions of 19 counties in the Northern Sacramento Valley and adjacent elevated terrain, the Northern Sierra Nevada generally north of I-80, the North Bay mountains, and Mt. Diablo in the East Bay. Specifically, customers in portions of the following counties are being notified: Alameda, Butte, Colusa, Contra Costa, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Napa, Plumas, Santa Clara, Shasta, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo and Yuba.

The potential PSPS event is still approximately 24 hours away. PG&E’s in-house meteorologists, its Wildfire Safety Operations Center and its Emergency Operations Center, continue to monitor conditions closely and additional customer notifications will be shared over the next few days.

Customer notifications—via text, email and automated phone call—began Monday afternoon, approximately two days prior to the potential shutoff. Customers enrolled in the company’s Medical Baseline program who do not verify that they have received these important safety communications will be individually visited in person by a PG&E employee when possible. A primary focus will be given to customers who rely on electricity for critical life-sustaining equipment.

The sole purpose of a PSPS is to reduce the risk of major wildfires during severe weather. While a PSPS is an important wildfire safety tool, PG&E understands that losing power disrupts lives, especially for customers sheltering-at-home in response to COVID-19.

Potentially Impacted Counties

The potential shutoff is currently expected to impact approximately 54,000 customers in the following 19 counties:

• Alameda County: 470 customers, 24 Medical Baseline customers
• Butte County: 11,291 customers, 988 Medical Baseline customers
• Colusa County: 565 customers, 32 Medical Baseline customers
• Contra Costa County: 563 customers, 45 Medical Baseline customers
• Glenn County: 377 customers, 18 Medical Baseline customers
• Humboldt County: 298 customers, 5 Medical Baseline customers
• Lake County: 963 customers, 69 Medical Baseline customers
• Lassen County: 319 customers, 17 Medical Baseline customers
• Napa County: 4,316 customers, 175 Medical Baseline customers
• Plumas County: 781 customers, 25 Medical Baseline customers
• Santa Clara County: 236 customers, 9 Medical Baseline customers
• Shasta County: 22,760 customers, 1,794 Medical Baseline customers
• Solano County: 49 customers, 4 Medical Baseline customers
• Sonoma County: 960 customers, 35 Medical Baseline customers
• Stanislaus County: 33 customers, 0 Medical Baseline customers
• Tehama County: 7,759 customers, 665 Medical Baseline customers
• Trinity County: 458 customers, 21 Medical Baseline customers
• Yolo County: 11 customers, 0 Medical Baseline customers
• Yuba County: 1,324 customers, 96 Medical Baseline customers
• Total*: 53,533 customers, 4,022 Medical Baseline customers

*The following Tribal Community counts are included within the County level detail above.