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Power shutoffs expected in Bay Area on Election Day
Six Bay Area counties are facing possible power shutoffs on Election Day and the following days, PG&E reported Sunday.
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. - Pacific Gas & Electric is notifying 20,000 customers in 17 counties that the utility may shut off their power on Tuesday, but officials also said that only two polling places are in the affected outage area.
One polling location is in Lakeside Elementary School in Los Gatos, and the other is the Calpine Geothermal Visitor Center in Middletown, Lake County, a two-hour drive north of San Francisco.
If the power is indeed shut off in the Bay Area, PG&E said it wouldn't occur until 9:30 p.m. on Election Day, well after the polls close.
There are a total of 7,000 Election Day polling locations in PG&E's service area, the utility said.
"We recognize, Tuesday Nov. 5th is election day, and we will be doing everything we can to ensure a smooth election process," explained Teresa Alvarado, Vice President for PG&E’s South Bay and Central Coast Region. "We started working with state and local election officials over a month ago to ensure reliability at polling locations and tabulation centers."
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Raw: PG&E discusses Election Day power shutoff
Dave Canny, vice president of PG&E's North Coast Region, discusses the power shutoff expected this week.
Of the total power shutoffs expected on Tuesday through Thursday, PG&E customers may be impacted in certain areas of Napa, Sonoma, Contra Costa, Santa Clara and Alameda counties, because of the expected high winds and dry conditions this week.
The electic company said its meteorologists are closely monitoring the possible wind event, which could last through Thursday morning.
"Although recent precipitation has lowered fire potential, fuels are expected to dry out over the next couple of days under the dry and breezy conditions leading to elevated fire weather concerns when the stronger winds occur mid-week," PG&E said.
PG&E customers can check specifics here.