Over 10,000 PG&E customers in Calaveras may lose power on Monday

A Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) may affect over 10,000 customers in Calaveras County beginning on Monday.

The county is currently on a PSPS Watch due to an offshore wind event forecast to begin late Sunday and into Monday.

“At this time, the winds are expected to be strongest across the Central Sierra as well as the North Bay,” a statement from PG&E issued Friday reads. “Although California has received some precipitation earlier in the season, shrub and brush fuel moisture remains very low and dead fuels are exceedingly dry for this time of year. Thus far, most locations have received less than a third to half the normal amount of precipitation to date. There is considerable uncertainty at this time and the forecast will need to be monitored closely for any changes.”

For Calaveras County, a total of 10,759 customers are estimated to be impacted, including 440 medical baseline customers. The estimated shutoff start time is 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. on Monday, and the estimated restoration time is 10 p.m. on Tuesday.

 

Communities affected include Arnold, Avery, Hathaway Pines, Dorrington, Camp Connell, Cottage Springs, West Point, Glencoe, Wilseyville, Independence, Bummerville and Rail Road Flat.

PG&E is planning on setting up community resource centers at Chapel in the Pines at 2286 Cedar Lane in Arnold; Murphys Fire Department at 58 Jones Street in Murphys; and Lions West Community Center at 22283 Highway 26 in West Point.

County utility agencies are urging customers to conserve water during the planned outage.

“Water and sewer utilities across Calaveras County are jointly urging customers to conserve water and only use it for critical health and safety needs during PG&E’s planned PSPS,” a joint statement from eight county utility agencies reads. “While most county water and sewer utilities have backup generators for key infrastructure facilities, indoor and outdoor water conservation will help lessen the load on these generators during power outages, as well as reducing the negative impacts of possible generator failures, such as loss of water treatment capacity or sewage spills.”

Locals are urged to “avoid any unnecessary uses of water, including watering lawns and outdoor landscaping, washing vehicles, filling swimming pools, washing off hardscapes, flushing toilets after every use, washing clothes, running the dishwasher and taking baths or long showers,” the press release reads.

“County residents should also be aware that small electric septic tank pumps will not function during power outages (unless a home backup generator is hooked up) and septic tanks could overflow,” the press release reads. “Even some homes that are connected to a sewer collection system use septic tank pump systems or grinder pump systems, which require power to function. It is very important to conserve water that will enter the septic tank, including water used in sinks, toilets, showers, washers, etc. Sewage grinder pump tanks have essentially no storage at all and could overflow even with very little water usage. Residents in that situation would have to stop the flow of water immediately.”

To view the PSPS outage map, click here.

To see if your address is affected, click here.

To learn more about community resource centers, click here.