Thousands Affected By Power Outages Around The Bay Area
BERKELEY (CBS SF) -- A large-scale power outage affected over 7,000 customers in Berkeley and smaller outages affected thousands in other cities, according to PG&E.
At 9:20 p.m. Tuesday evening, 11,912 customers were still being affected. The full breakdown by region follows below:
- San Francisco - 11
- Peninsula - 1,035
- North Bay - 1,414
- East Bay - 8,725
- South Bay - 727
- Bay Area Total - 11,912
On PG&E's electric outage report map, an area of Berkeley south of the UC Berkeley campus was reported to be affecting 7,363 customers. The outage began at 3:57 p.m., the map said.
PG&E said they are investigating the cause of the outage. The utility estimates that power will be restored to the affected area by 7:15 p.m. Tuesday evening.
By 5:45 p.m., the outage map indicated that most of the power had been restored in the area.
Two outages in Benicia were affecting 5,830 customers around 6:30 p.m. The utility estimated power would be restored by 9:30 p.m.
In the East Bay, three separate outages in Orinda and Lafayette were affecting around 2,286 customers, according to the outage map. Those outages also began shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Another outage in Livermore that began at 4:26 p.m. was affecting 1,886 customers. PG&E said the outage was caused by the weather.
In Vallejo, just northeast of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, an outage was affecting 992 customers. Power was estimated to be restored by 6:15 p.m., PG&E said.
Two outages in Fairfield were affecting over 2,290 customers and started around 4 p.m.
A statewide Flex Alert was issued Tuesday by the California Independent System Operator Corporation, calling for voluntary electricity conservation from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday.
Customers were urged to conserve electricity during the hot Tuesday afternoon, a time when air conditioners are typically at peak use. Because of the widespread use of the appliances, ISO said it anticipates energy demand reaching a peak of 42,8000 megawatts Tuesday evening.
