PG&E: Additional power outages on Monday are ‘likely’ amid California heatwave

Pacific Gas and Electric warns that it is “likely” that many customers will lose power for one to two hours Monday afternoon and evening due to rolling blackouts caused by increased voltage on the California power grid amid a statewide heat wave.

“Extreme heat is expected to last at least through the middle of this week,” PG&E officials wrote in a statement. “Prolonged temperatures until Thursday are expected to drive higher demand for electricity, as night temperatures are also forecast above average.”

In previous releases, PG&E warned customers in specific areas such as San Francisco, San Mateo and Contra Costa counties of rotating blackouts in the window from 3pm to 10pm. Monday’s release does not provide details on specific areas or the number of customers expected to be affected.

“PG&E urges customers to reduce electricity consumption during the Flex Alert on Monday, especially in the afternoon and evening, when air conditioners are typically at peak usage,” the utility wrote.

The California Independent System Operator (ISO) issued a Stage 3 emergency over the weekend as demand for electricity increased supply, and Gov. Gavin Newsom said supply shortages will only decrease in the coming days.

“On Saturday, we dropped the need by about 450 megawatts, and we expect substantially greater demand today,” Newsom said at a news conference Monday. “Today we expect 4,440 megawatts to be short.”

Because the state expects even larger gaps in supply and demand, the governor declared that residents should be blamed for outages and called the failure “to predict these plans and plan” “simply unacceptable.”

Eric Ting is an SFGATE reporter. Email: [email protected] | Twitter:@_ericting