PG&E shuts off power for second day in rural Vacaville, Winters
Residents of rural Solano and Yolo counties had a few hours of electrical service between late Tuesday afternoon and early Wednesday morning before they were plunged into darkness for a second day in a row.
Early Wednesday morning, the Pacific Gas & Electric Company shut off electrical service to nearly 200 residents in rural Vacaville and Winters as part of a multi-day planned safety power shutoff (PSPS) event.
On Monday, PG&E warned tens of thousands of customers across several counties that they could lose power due to a combination of extreme heat and high wind. The PSPS event was a precaution to prevent PG&E’s equipment from starting wildfires.
The original notice warned that PG&E customers could lose electrical service from early Tuesday morning through Wednesday evening, including portions of the day when temperatures were forecast to be in excess of 100 degrees.
Rather than a continuous power disruption, PG&E restored service to rural Vacaville and Winters residents Tuesday afternoon, giving most homes and businesses about 10 hours of electricity before shutting off power around 1 a.m. Wednesday.
The number of PG&E customers affected by Wednesday’s outage appears to be less than the amount who lost service on Tuesday, based on a preliminary reading of PG&E’s outage map. On Tuesday, around 400 customers in rural Solano and Yolo counties lost electrical service during the PSPS event; on Wednseday, that number was closer to 200.
In Solano County, the outages are primarily occurring at homes, ranches and vacation rentals along Pleasants Valley Road east of the Napa County line and south of Highway 128. In Winters, the outlying portion of the city is covered by the PSPS event, including homes along Highway 128 in the northwest part of town.
PG&E says customers could be without power through 10 p.m., though service may be restored earlier if weather conditions become favorable. The utility does not send press releases or community information to Solano NewsNet, despite numerous outreach attempts.