Power outages are expected to be fully restored in San Jose on Friday.
SAN RAFAEL, Caliph. – Restoration of power is underway after rotating outages were ordered across the state of California Friday night and thousands without leaving power amid a hot wave.
Pacific Gas and Electric says the state grid operator, California Independent System Operator (CAISO), has asked customers to retain power until 11 a.m., due to penalties on the power grid.
Other power programs across the state have been asked to take the same action, PG&E said.
The utility began to exclude the power when turning interruptions under the direction of CAISO. By 11 a.m., PG&E said power was being restored to as many as 220,000 customers affected. Some customers had no power due to separate heat-related issues, the utility said.
The outages can take up to one hour for each block, the utility said. However, Tom Vacar of KTVU said he experienced a break for more than two hours. Due to the nature of the emergency, PG&E said customers would not be notified in advance of possible outages.
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The company updated the situation Friday night and said the first rotating outages of the evening helped stabilize the roster. They said they will work to have full restoration for the power of customer to be back by 11 p.m. The utility said they have no new outages for Friday night.
CAISO said they will decide whether the rolling outages will continue on a day-to-day basis as the heatwave wears off, likely by the middle of new week.
Shortly after 6:30 p.m., the network declared a Stage 3 electrical emergency, which the question is overwhelming about. Since 2011, rolling power outages have not been ordered in the state.
Power outages during Friday’s outbreak were nowhere near the PG & E threshold
Tom Vacar of KTVU says that PG&E and the CPUC have some explanation to do regarding rotated outages on Friday night, where the power outage was not near the threshold of utility.
“Extreme heat is really the driver behind this,” said Anne Gonzales, spokeswoman for the power grid operator.
The rotating outlets are not to be confused with the Power Shutoffs for public safety which occur as a preventative measure throughout the fire season.
“The safety of our customers and the communities we serve is the main responsibility of PG & E. We encourage our customers to take immediate steps to reduce their energy consumption. We will work to restore power safely and as soon as possible, ‘said Michael Lewis, interim chairman of PG&E.
While a stage emergency is a significant inconvenience to those affected by power outages, it is more advantageous to manage with controlled measures, instead of allowing widespread and more prolonged disruption.
Cloudy weather, the remnants of a tropical weather system, reduced energy production from solar plants, Gonzales said.
There were two major power outages in the cities of San Rafael and San Mateo Friday night.
Police departments of San Rafael and San Mateo confirmed these outages.
There is no rough time for when power will be restored in these two cities.
San Francisco shows multiple areas of strikes, including parts of Hayes Valley, Civic Center, South of Market and the Mission District. More than 5,000 customers have been affected there.
Police remind motorists to treat all intersections with traffic signals without operation as four-way.
Bay City News’ Kevin Mendez, KTVU’s Brooks Jarosz, and Associated Press contributed to this report.
