CALIFORNIA – PG&E is expecting to restore power Friday night to customers impacted by the public safety power shutoff (PSPS). However, the company is warning of another potential power shutoff this weekend.
PG&E expects to restore power to all the 31,000 customers in seven counties who are impacted by the public safety power shutoff that began on Wednesday.
Power was turned off to a majority of customers living in Shasta, Butte, and Tehama counties due to strong, windy weather that elevated the risk of wildfires.
PG&E meteorologists forecast that the strongest winds will subside Friday morning, allowing their crews to begin patrolling power lines to check for damage or hazards, before reenergizing those lines. PG&E said it expects all customers who can receive service will be back in power by 10 p.m. Friday.
However, PG&E said it is monitoring an additional potential wind event to arrive Sunday. Although it is still three days away and weather conditions can quickly change, it has the potential to be a larger scale event than the PSPS event that began Wednesday, Oct. 21, according to the company.
On Saturday, the PG&E said it plans to begin notifications two days in advance of the event for potentially impacted customers indicating the possibility of another power shutoff for safety Sunday morning.
RELATED: Check if you will be impacted by a PG&E shutoff
The PSPS that began Wednesday evening remains in place for some customers and PG&E is continuing to monitor conditions across the de-energized areas.
The top three recorded wind gust speeds by noon today were 56, 52 and 45 miles per hour. in Shasta, Butte and Yolo counties respectively, with humidity and fuel moisture levels remaining low.
Crews have already restored power to about 74% of customers affected by the Oct. 21 PSPS, with about 8,000 customers remaining as of 7:30 p.m.
PG&E meteorology says it is tracking and forecasting a potential PSPS event encompassing areas and adjacent terrain of the northern and western Sacramento Valley, Northern and Central Sierra, higher terrain of the Bay Area, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Central Coast Region, and portions of southern Kern.
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