More than 3,000 PG&E, contract and mutual-aid personnel mobilized to respond to tomorrow's winter storm

PG&E is mobilizing personnel ahead of a significant wet and windy winter storm due to arrive across Northern and Central California Wednesday and into Thursday.

This effort follows the restoration of nearly 500,000 customers who lost power during the strong New Year’s Eve storm last Saturday.

Poised to respond to outages are approximately 360 four-person electric crews, 397 troublemen, distribution line technicians and system inspectors who serve as the utility’s first responders and another 800 personnel who will monitor electric incidents for public safety

Additionally, hundreds of PG&E employees are serving in roles in the company’s Emergency  Operations Center as well as in regional and divisional emergency centers. Approximately 250 vegetation-management personnel also are at the ready.

PG&E is currently being supported by 16 crews from Southern California Edison and has requested mutual-aid assistance from additional West Coast power providers.

The company is using its storm outage prediction models that help determine the potential timing, location, and number of power outages. This allows the company to have extra crews on standby to deploy to areas that are hard hit by the storm. PG&E is also prestaging power poles, powerlines, transformers, and other electric equipment at yards throughout its service area to restore power to affected areas safely and as quickly as possible.   

The weather system forecasted to move through PG&E’s service area as early as Wednesday, Jan. 4, will deliver strong, gusty winds, moderate to heavy rain and a chance for isolated thunderstorms. Peak wind risk is expected Wednesday across the central and southern parts of PG&E’s service area, with gusts in the 35-45 MPH range at lower elevations and possibly 50-60 MPH across elevated terrain, portions of the Central Valley and along the Central Coast.

Potentially hazardous conditions such as flooding, mud slides and road closures—some which remain from the storms that occurred over New Year’s weekend—could slow restoration efforts for some customers. The incoming adverse weather could result in trees, limbs and other debris falling into powerlines, damaging equipment, and interrupting electric service. Saturated soil in many locations could cause trees to fall, and localized flooding and mudslides are possible.

“This weather system by itself would present widespread challenges, and we have to factor in that many parts of our service area remain saturated after last weekend’s storm. Our crews have been working tirelessly to ensure we minimize any impacts this storm may have on our customers and hometowns. We encourage customers to prepare for the storm now – have an emergency plan in case you lose power and update your contact information on PG&E’s website so we can provide you with real-time updates on outages in your neighborhood,” said Angie Gibson, vice president, PG&E Emergency Preparedness & Response