Bay Area Power Outages Leave Thousands Without Electricity

RICHMOND, CA — By mid-morning on Sunday, power outages caused by the Bay Area's first bout of heavy fog and drizzle after a long dry spell continued to affect the region, especially the East Bay.

As of 10 a.m., more than 26,000 customers around the region were still affected, according to PG&E spokesperson Karly Hernandez.

The majority were in the East Bay, where more than 22,000 customers were affected, most of them in the Richmond and San Pablo areas.

Around the rest of the region, 2,100 customers were affected in San Francisco and 2,000 on the Peninsula. Less than 100 customers were affected in the North and South bays.

The outages began Saturday night and crews are working to restore power, according to PG&E.

Power lines and equipment that accrue dust, dirt, salt and other substances after a long dry period are affected when the first mist or fog arrives. The buildup turns into mud, which can contribute to electrical flashovers and cause outages. Arcing can also cause outages, when there is enough dust and particulate in the air near power lines.

PG&E's line-washing program is for larger electric transmission lines, so such outages tend to impact distribution systems serving local neighborhoods, a spokesperson said.

In Richmond there were 29 locations that saw outages due to flashovers, affecting more than 9,000 customers. In San Pablo there are 16 locations, affecting 2,600 customers.

PG&E crews continue to work safely and as quickly as possible to restore power to customers.

By Bay City News Service