NAPA: For the second time in a week, Napa County is on PG&E's shutoff list. The utility said Tuesday that a potential Public Safety Power Shutoff starting Wednesday evening, Oct. 14, and running through Saturday, Oct. 17, could affect approximately 70,000 customers across 29 California counties, including an estimated 3,027 customers in Napa County, 138 of them Medical Baseline customers who rely on power for medical needs.
The new scope is far larger than the one PG&E first floated for this event. The utility initially expected about 30,000 customers in 22 counties, then expanded the targeted area on Tuesday to 29 counties and roughly 70,000 customers. About 5,700 customers who were included in the original scope have since been removed, and roughly 4,000 customers who lost power in shutoffs earlier in the week may be affected again.
The warning follows close behind the last one. A separate shutoff event weighed for Friday, Oct. 9, through Monday, Oct. 12, put about 12,200 customers in 17 counties in scope under the same kind of windy, dry conditions.
A second shutoff scope in a single week, and Napa is in it again.
Wind on Thursday, dry air all week
PG&E tied the plan to a dry offshore wind event. The strongest winds are expected in the Sierra, the southern Central Coast and parts of the North and East Bay, with offshore Diablo winds peaking Thursday across the northern and central Sierra and into parts of the North and East Bay. The utility cited extremely dry vegetation and relative humidity expected to fall into the single digits and teens in many areas.
PG&E said it was still refining where the weather would hit hardest, and that conditions could still change before any shutoff begins.
What Napa customers should know
Initial notifications went out Monday by text, email and automated phone call, about two days before the potential shutoff, with further notices sent Tuesday as the scope grew. Statewide, the scope includes 3,920 Medical Baseline customers and five tribal governments. PG&E said its employees will conduct in-person visits, when possible, to Medical Baseline customers who do not confirm they received the safety notices, focusing on customers who rely on electricity for critical life-sustaining equipment.
PG&E said it was still lining up Community Resource Centers for this event and would share locations once they are confirmed. Customers can check whether their address is being monitored for a possible shutoff at pge.com/pspsupdates.
