Outage in Dixon caused by down power line, PG&E says
More than 15,000 customers were without power on Wednesday afternoon.
(Graphic by Solano NewsNet)
A broken power line at an electrical substation north of Vacaville was the cause of a massive blackout that interrupted power for thousands of customers in Dixon and rural Winters on Wednesday.
The power disruption started around 3:15 p.m. and severed electrical service to more than 15,500 Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) customers in Dixon and rural parts of Solano and Yolo counties.
A spokesperson for PG&E said power was restored to all but 9,000 customers before 4 p.m., and service was fully restored to all affected customers before 10 p.m.
The cause of the outage was determined to be a downed power line at the Vaca-Dixon substation. The line came into contact with substation equipment, which triggered the blackout, the spokesperson said.
“The safety of our customers and the communities we serve is our most-important responsibility,” the PG&E spokesperson affirmed, adding that the company attempted to restore electrical service as quickly and safely as possible.
The disruption impacted several municipal buildings and businesses in Dixon. City Hall was left without power, and generators had to be used to provide electricity at the police and fire departments, a spokesperson for the City of Dixon told Solano NewsNet. Phone service was not disrupted at the city buildings, the spokesperson said.
Residents in Dixon told Solano NewsNet they had to travel to other cities in order to buy groceries, gas and to pick up dinner for the evening because the power outage caused restaurants, stores and refueling stations to close early.
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