PSPS update delays outage by 4 hours due to changing weather conditions
The power will now go out in Humboldt between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. due to shifts in the weather, according to a Humboldt County Administrative Office update.
“These delays in the power shut off are in part because PG&E is trying to limit the time that customers are impacted,” the update said.
PG&E increased the number of accounts within the scope of its latest Public Safety Power Shutoff today from 850,000 to 940,000. Since many accounts provide power to multiple customers, PG&E estimates that over two million people are within the PSPS scope.
PG&E expects to give the “all clear” for the windy weather event by 4 p.m. Sunday for Humboldt. However, the update clarifies that that is not when power will be restored.
“The weather “All clear” time is the time when PG&E personnel can begin inspecting the lines,” the update said. “It can take up to 48 daylight hours from the weather “All clear” time until power is restored because any damage found during the inspection will need to be repaired prior to power restoration.”
In a PG&E press conference at their headquarters in San Francisco, PSPS Incident Commander Mark Quinlan emphasized that the restoration will take different amounts of time for different areas as PG&E works to patrol 31,000 miles of lines.
“The restoration time is a sequence as well,” Quinlan said. “It doesn’t mean that every customer is going to be out for 48 hours. It means that we’re going to begin restoration activities at the times that I mentioned, and we believe we will incrementally restore everyone all the way up and not have anyone out past 48 hours.”
