October 9, 2019 – November 20, 2019[1][2] (1 month, 1 week and 4 days)
Location
California
Type
Power outage
Cause
Wildfire risk due to strong winds
Deaths
1[3]
The 2019 California power shutoffs, known as public safety power shutoff (PSPS) events, were massive preemptive power shutoffs that occurred in approximately 30 counties in Northern California and several areas in Southern California from October 9 to November 1, 2019, and on November 20, 2019, by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE), and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). The power shutoffs were an attempt to prevent wildfires from being started by electrical equipment during strong and dry winds. The shutoffs initially affected around 800,000 customer accounts, or about 2.5 million people,[4][5][6][needs update] but expanded to cause over 3 million people to lose utility-provided electrical power by late October as more utility companies from around the state also did preemptive power shutoffs.
The shutdowns have drawn widespread fierce backlash and criticism from residents as well as government officials as PG&E, SCE, SDG&E and the California Public Utilities Commission issued an apology.[citation needed] Many residents complained of either being misinformed or not informed when shutdowns would occur, while officials such as California governor Gavin Newsom blamed the shutdowns on PG&E's "greed and mismanagement."[7] Some people expressed their frustrations through vandalism and violence, including the egging of a PG&E office's front doors and someone shooting at a PG&E vehicle.[8]
For the state's largest utility, PG&E, to bury all of its distribution lines (relatively low voltage lines which bring power to homes, not the higher voltage transmission lines) would cost US$15,000 per customer.[9]
^"PG&E says 'essentially all' customers restored after outages". ABC7 San Francisco. November 1, 2019.
^Reyes-Velarde, Alejandra (November 20, 2019). "PG&E shutting off power to 450,000 people in Northern California". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
^Cite error: The named reference Fox death was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Fuller, Thomas (October 9, 2019). "Fearing Wildfires, PG&E Cuts Power to 500,000 in California". The New York Times. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
^Morris, J.D; Cabanatuan, Michael (October 9, 2019). "PG&E: Massive power shut-off to hit 800,000 customers, could extend nearly a week". San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
^"Wildfires rage in California as residents scramble without power". CBS News. October 10, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
^Wilson, Scott (October 10, 2019). "'There is no recourse': Blackouts draw ire across Northern California". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
^Fedschun, Travis (October 10, 2019). "California power outage frustrations boil over as PG&E office vandalized, truck shot at on Interstate 5". FOX News. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
^Cite error: The named reference USN_1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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