Community Chat

[sunshine45]

here is some additional information for those of us who are not in the area and not familiar with the situation.

https://www.ktvu.com/news/safety-shutoff-starts-about-185000-pge-customers-in-bay-area-without-power

also..... via twitter

PG&E
(@PGE4Me)

PG&E will open Community Resource Centers in several locations starting Wed 10/9 @ 8 am. They will remain open during daylight hrs only. Restrooms, bottled water, electronic-device charging, a/c seating for up to 100 will be available. Full list: bit.ly/2OGbk5B #PSPS pic.twitter.com/akyzAMk…

[beckyb1012]

Oh my I so feel for you.  The longest we ever had to suffer during an ice storm was for three days. Thank goodness we had a gas oven where at least I could light the burners, a gas hot water heater where we could still shower but freeze getting out. Also, a huge fire place for heat.  Still you cannot escape these conditions of your home during an ice storm.  By the third day I was on my hands and knees picking up debris from the carpet picnics in the den.  Good Luck hopefully it will go by sooner than you have been informed.

[SahmIam]

I read about this last night and thought about all of you on this forum who will be affected by it. I wish you safety, peace and strength. Hugs to you all.

[SeaMaiden]

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@dulwich wrote:

Our local utility company emailed us this a.m. to say from midnight tonight that all power will be turned off for possibly up to 5 days.  Must not bbq or light any home fires.  We do have large freezer full of food.  We were advised to fill up our cars today.

Evidently they are checking all lines in our and surrounding areas as high winds are forecast and any spark from lines could cause fires- as happened here in CA last year.

Checking our ‘emergency’ supplies we do have candles then DH just checked no matches!  Couple of good flashlights - Talking to neighbors we are all in the same boat.  One good thing today our local Italian restaurant emailed us all to say they have generator and will be open!

Hoping we will be back on by Friday England playing France in Rugby World Cup!!  

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@dulwich  Just awful for you! So so sorry you have to deal with this incompetency of your power company going bankrupt and pulling their customers into their mess.

Maybe if they had looked ahead years ago and buried the lines....or took other measures to improve the safety of the power structure this would not be happening....and the issue with so many losing their homes ...... would not have happened recently

but instead they chose to save money and not do what is right....now you the customer suffering.😡

[bathina]

Are people with solar panels impacted by the outage? I'm not very familiar with how solar ties into the grid, if at all. Does anyone know?

[Cakers3]

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@bathina wrote:
Are people with solar panels impacted by the outage? I'm not very familiar with how solar ties into the grid, if at all. Does anyone know?

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@bathina   From the SF Chronicle:

Customers with solar systems are still connected to the PG&E power grid, so if PG&E cuts off the power for safety, their power gets shut off automatically. People who have a home battery paired with their solar system might have power saved up and be spared from the outage.

PG&E spokeswoman Ari Vanrenen stressed that it’s important for customers with solar power to keep an emergency plan for extended outages.

[Cakers3]

I'm so sorry for everyone.  Be safe.

[chrystaltree]

Wow.  I saw it on the news late last night but I didn't know the magnitude of it.  It made me think about how we would handle such a thing.  We could manage for a day or two but 5 days is a very long time.  We'd have to go and stay with one of our daughters.  It's a terrible inconvenience but it's necessary to avoid a possible catastrophe.  

[ValuSkr]

I understand why they do this, but what a hardship for residents, schools, and businesses.  Nevertheless, it beats the alternative - a fire like that in Paradise.  Here's hoping the shutdown is closer to two days than five.

[jonbon]

Well, part of my town (including my home and my son's high school) was in the "shut off" area, and we still have power this morning. BTW, the shut off was for up to five days, so it would not necessarily last that long. It would all depend on the weather conditions (wind). Also, much of my town and the surrounding area was not scheduled to lose power, so stores and restaurants would have been open, etc.