Some Californians received a test of the earthquake early-warning system seven hours before the appointed time, waking…
power outages
Posted inLatest News
PG&E: Wednesday evening Santa Cruz power outage caused by substation malfunction
More than 17,000 homes across Santa Cruz County were without power for hours on Wednesday afternoon and evening. Per PG&E, the outage was caused by a substation malfunction in Santa Cruz.
Posted inLatest News
Power restored for 2,000 PG&E customers in the Watsonville area; cause under investigation
A power outage that lasted more than 7 hours left nearly 2,000 PG&E customers without power Thursday morning. Power has since been restored.
Posted inLatest News
As wildfire season ramps up, PG&E expands instant power shutoff program
Some Californians received a test of the earthquake early-warning system seven hours before the appointed time, waking…
Posted inLatest News
Outage over; balloons cause power loss, PG&E warns grads and dads
Around 6,400 households and businesses on Santa Cruz’s Westside and elsewhere lost power Friday morning after Pacific Gas & Electric said a metallic balloon entangled in its equipment touched off the outage around 9 a.m. The utility restored power to the vast majority of customers by 12:45 p.m.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Santa Cruz County storm watch: Rain causes over 18,000 to lose power; evac warning in San Lorenzo Valley
An atmospheric river that began moving slowly on Sunday from Northern California toward Southern California caused thousands of Central Coast residents to lose power. An evacuation warning has also been issued in parts of the CZU burn scar areas.
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Rain, wind to hit Santa Cruz region Monday evening — power outages likely in mountain areas
A weak atmospheric river is forecast to bring Santa Cruz County up to 2 inches of rainfall and wind gusts of up to 45 mph overnight Monday and into Tuesday, leading Pacific Gas and Electric to prepare for outages. Rainfall and potential thunderstorms are expected to arrive after 4 p.m. Monday and clear out by early Wednesday.
Posted inEnvironment
PG&E must reduce outage impacts on customers, says California Public Utilities Commission
Following a series of Pacific Gas & Electric outages meant to reduce fire risk in parts of Santa Cruz County over the summer, the California Public Utilities Commission is requiring the company to mitigate the effects on residents who were left without power, sometimes for days. The commission responded to a letter sent by Santa Cruz County Chair of the Board of Supervisors Bruce McPherson in September.
Posted inEnvironment
PG&E warns of another power shut-off affecting up to 29,000 customers; Santa Cruz County not on list
Twenty counties in Northern and Central California could be affected Thursday in order to reduce the risk of wildfire from energized power lines; as of Tuesday afternoon, Santa Cruz County was among those counties.
Posted inLatest News
High winds cause thousands to lose power around county as red flag warning remains in effect
Monday’s outages were largely triggered by high winds, with the Santa Cruz Mountains under red flag warnings and expecting to see gusts from 35 to 50 mph through the afternoon.