Oct 2019 electric utility power shutdowns in various parts of California

[sceptic]

So there are a number of areas around SF that pge says they may turn electricity off for up to 5 days due to extreme windy and dry conditions.

It is not clear to me what will happen to hotels, restaurants, etc. if they don't have backup generators - I called one last night but nobody knew. In addition they are telling people who have medical equipment to "find alternate sources" or something like that. So for the bigger picture I'm not sure if even hospitals have backup that can last that long - but on a more trivial note -
EV owners might not want to delay charging just in case (and of course if elec is out gas pumps won't work - but I don't have to worry about that personally )

 

[p4594spa]

go here to find if you are affected: https://www.pge.com/en_US/safety/em...saster/wildfires/psps-service-impact-map.page

 

[dchobo]

good excuse not to go to work...

 

[Trevor B]

go here to find if you are affected: https://www.pge.com/en_US/safety/em...saster/wildfires/psps-service-impact-map.page

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It looks like nothing was found at this location. Maybe try a search?

 

[Nocturnal]

That's their solution? Good lord.

 

[Trips]

That's their solution? Good lord.

Sounds better than raking the forest.

 

[vickh]

Sounds better than raking the forest.

To his defense it was a pretty messy forest compared to golf courses

 

[Trevor B]

To his defense it was a pretty messy forest compared to golf courses

great and umatched wisdom!

 

[Big Dog]

fwiw: we've had mandated blackouts for fire prevention in SoCal for years. NorCal is just starting to get with the program.

The upside of course, is that SoCal is semi-arid so many trees grow large; in contrast, rainy NorCal has a LOT more growth & forests to trim back.

 

[sceptic]

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It looks like nothing was found at this location. Maybe try a search?

Link worked for me just now.

 

[sceptic]

fwiw: we've had mandated blackouts for fire prevention in SoCal for years. NorCal is just starting to get with the program.

The upside of course, is that SoCal is semi-arid so many trees grow large; in contrast, rainy NorCal has a LOT more growth & forests to trim back.

Yeah, it took MASSIVE loss of life and homes last year (Paradise fire) before they did this, but it seems like there should be a better way to maintain their equipment without such severe measures - but then again they're either in bankruptcy or about to declare......

 

[ElectricLee]

Time to plan for Tesla Solar and 2 days of Powerwalls for your home.

 

[favo]

PG&E's web servers are getting hammered. There is some info on their twitter feed: PG&E (@PGE4Me) | Twitter

Also, this:

PG&E @PGE4Me 7h7 hours ago
#PSPS Zip Code Alerts: To enroll call 1-877-9000-PGE. Alerts will be delivered via automated call. To sign up for text alerts, text "ENROLL" to 97633: http://bit.ly/2IyTYUm

 

[mblakele]

PG&E’s Power Shutoffs Can’t Save California From Wildfire Hell — Wired

 

[jboy210]

I just received a notice on my car about PG&E potentially shutting off power. Tesla suggests charging to 100%

 

[sceptic]

Interesting - I started a thread about the pge potential shutoff to warn people which got some replies then it was moved to the "California' forum and has had no replies since

 

[SMAlset]

I would have charged tonight after 11p but given we're in the shut off zone, decided to stop at a supercharger to go from 110mi to 90% when I was out running errands. Wasn't too sure about being plugged in and the power goes out at some point. Was only 1 of maybe 3-4 cars there at the supercharger as I recall.

Checked earlier and our address was on the #PSPS site as in the shut off zone. Not sure if it goes black at midnight or what. Will say that I've heard about the decision to shut on the radio, TV, alert by home phone and text alert on my iPhone. Ten-day Wunderground for my area didn't look too bad in general, temps not as hot, and winds weren't that bad either but the ranges around me are the crucial factor. Figure if I wake up and no power it looks like I can drive a little bit and at least get hot meals. Showered tonight for warm water and a hair dryer. Devices are charging. Really not sure what we can expect.

I was at Target and picked up a few room temperature food items to have around and people were really stocking up on water. Someone was carting in a pallet of it and it was moths to the flame. I asked one of the workers there what their plans were for all the grocery refrigerated area and he said he wasn't aware. Can't begin to imagine if they shut all the areas down they had mapped out how much food spoilage would run in $s. I guess a good section of members here might be offline soon if you rely on wifi.

 

[thecloud]

It looks like our address will be unaffected, but the planned outage map is drawn with big jagged angles and has a section pointing up across 280 into Sunnyvale, so it's anyone's guess where the actual shutoff boundary will occur. Like you said: really not sure what we can expect here.

The car is plugged in and will reach 90% before midnight. Also have portable lithium-ion jump start batteries ready in case we need to charge our phones. Made some extra ice packs in the freezer. Water bottles are filled.

Hopefully this manufactured emergency ends up being just a lot of hot air. Good luck tomorrow, everyone!

 

[MichaelP90DL]

You gotta hand it to Tesla for their range changes in extreme weather and now the warning about those power outages. That's pretty cool.

 

[sceptic]

Yes it is cool, but I wish the notice was pushed to my phone instead of just appearing on the car screen or hidden on the app - still it is nice that they tried