Downed Tree Limb Triggers Walnut Creek Outage
WALNUT CREEK (CBS SF) -- With temperatures beginning to soar again toward triple digits, a massive fallen tree limb triggered a power outage to more than 1,800 PG&E customers in a Walnut Creek neighborhood.
And the utility cannot tell the residents when the power will be restored.
Walnut Creek police said Ygnacio Valley Road near where Bancroft Road becomes Walnut Avenue was one of the areas that lost power.
PG&E's outage map on the utility's website indicates an outage affecting 1,819 customers started at 6:54 a.m.
Meanwhile, the utility was beginning to bring some pf the 3,833 customers in Union City that lost power overnight back online.
PG&E said the culprit in the outage was damage to underground power lines.
The heat wave that has settled into California is also carrying with it the threat of additional outages.
The California Independent System Operator, which oversees the operation of the state's bulk electric system, transmission lines and electricity market, has issued a statewide Flex Alert, or a call for voluntary electricity conservation.
Electric customers were urged to conserve electricity from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Conservation was especially recommended during the late afternoon, when air conditioners are typically at peak use, CAISO official said.
According to CAISO officials, electric customers can help avoid power outages by turning off all unnecessary lights, using major appliances before 2 p.m. or after 9 p.m., and setting air conditioners to 78 degrees or higher.
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