San Francisco, CA…Based on current forecasted weather conditions, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) anticipates that it may begin implementing a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) to more than 600,000 customers across portions of nearly 30 northern, central, coastal and Bay Area counties. This would be a precautionary measure to reduce the risk of wildfire in these communities.

If PG&E decides to implement a PSPS, the company expects to begin turning off power for safety early Wednesday morning. Based on the latest weather forecasts and models, PG&E anticipates the period of peak winds will occur from early Wednesday morning and last through Thursday midday.

“This is shaping up to be one of the most severe dry wind events we’ve seen in our territory in recent years and we want our customers to be prepared for an extended outage that may last several days. Our meteorological and operations teams continue to actively monitor the weather and this evolving situation, and we are working directly with state and local agencies to help prepare our customers and the public for this safety event,” said Michael Lewis, Senior Vice President, PG&E Electric Operations. “We want our customers to be aware that, based on this number, it could take several days to fully restore power after the weather passes and safety inspections are completed.”

Customers may be affected by a power shutoff even though they are not experiencing extreme weather conditions in their specific location. This is because the electric system relies on power lines working together to provide electricity across cities, counties and regions.

Customer impacts may include:

Customer Support

To support customers who would be impacted by Wednesday’s potential PSPS event, PG&E is planning to open Community Resource Centers across the affected areas.

The Resource Centers will be open during daylight hours only and will provide restrooms, bottled water, electronic-device charging and air-conditioning.

Customers are encouraged to visit pge.com/pspsupdates for the most up-to-date Public Safety Power Shutoff information, including addresses for the Community Resource Centers as they open and a link to an address look-up tool where customers can search their address for potential impacts.

Inspection and Restoration Process

PG&E cannot begin restoring power until the weather conditions subside.

Steps to restoration after a PSPS event include:

o   Weather All Clear

• After the dry and windy weather has passed and it’s safe to do so, our crews can go into the field to begin patrols and inspections.

o   Patrol and Inspect

• Our crews will work to visually inspect our power lines to look for potential

weather-related damage to the lines, poles and towers. This is done by

vehicle, foot and air.

• Visual inspections are necessary since circuit breakers, reclosing devices

and fuses that are typically used to help detect any potential damage from a weather event like a winter storm are also de-energized during a Public Safety Power Shutoff for safety reasons.

• There are many challenges we face during inspections. Some locations require workers to travel on narrow access roads. In locations with no vehicle access, crews might need to hike in remote and mountainous areas to inspect equipment. And, at night, the company can’t fly helicopters for visual inspections.

o   Isolate and Repair Damaged Equipment

• Where equipment damage is found, crews will work to isolate the damaged area from the rest of the system so other parts of the system can be restored.

o   Begin restoring power to customers within the PSPS event.

How customers can prepare

As part of PSPS preparedness efforts, PG&E is asking customers to:

• Update their contact information at pge.com/mywildfirealerts or by calling 1-866-743-6589 during normal business hours. PG&E will use this information to alert customers through automated calls, texts, and emails, when possible, prior to, and during, a Public Safety Power Shutoff.
• Plan for medical needs like medications that require refrigeration or devices that need power.
• Identify backup charging methods for phones and keep hard copies of emergency numbers.
• Build or restock your emergency kit with flashlights, fresh batteries, first aid supplies and cash.
• Keep in mind family members who are elderly, younger children and pets. Information and tips including a safety plan checklist are available at pge.com/wildfiresafety.

About PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric energy company in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/ and http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/.