Some residents in Placer County have been without power in June and July, during some of the hottest days of the summer, like Thursday.The Pacific Gas and Electric Company said it needs to replace and upgrade power poles, but residents call it poor planning in a heat wave.The utility company left phone messages and sent letters to customers, letting them know when and how long there will be planned outages.”This is not the right time to be doing it,” said one customer.The Colfax customer’s letter said crews need to replace a power pole.”I got to thinking maybe this is not the right time to be doing planned maintenance when it’s an excessive heat event,” she said.PG&E said Thursday’s planned outages in Weimar impacted 42 customers and lasted six hours, from 8 a.m. to 2:40 p.m.Crews completed 22 jobs, called a “mega-bundle,” which means they worked on various jobs at once to prevent future power disruptions. The customer said she’s been checking on residents during the sporadic planned outages in the triple-digit temperatures.”I’m concerned for those that can’t go somewhere and don’t have a generator, even if you do have a generator, running a fan isn’t going to get you through an outage when it’s 104 or 106 outside,” she said.Several residents said they understand the need for the work. but said the utility company should wait until the heat wave is over. “I don’t have any problems with the upgrades, I have no problem,” the customer said.Customers also said they’ve already received more notices for planned outages later this month.A PG&E spokesperson said they can’t move the work to another day, saying it’s hard to reschedule since they are working on several jobs at the same time.They brought in extra manpower to finish the work as quickly as possible.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.
WEIMAR, Calif. —
Some residents in Placer County have been without power in June and July, during some of the hottest days of the summer, like Thursday.
The Pacific Gas and Electric Company said it needs to replace and upgrade power poles, but residents call it poor planning in a heat wave.
The utility company left phone messages and sent letters to customers, letting them know when and how long there will be planned outages.
“This is not the right time to be doing it,” said one customer.
The Colfax customer’s letter said crews need to replace a power pole.
“I got to thinking maybe this is not the right time to be doing planned maintenance when it’s an excessive heat event,” she said.
PG&E said Thursday’s planned outages in Weimar impacted 42 customers and lasted six hours, from 8 a.m. to 2:40 p.m.
Crews completed 22 jobs, called a “mega-bundle,” which means they worked on various jobs at once to prevent future power disruptions.
The customer said she’s been checking on residents during the sporadic planned outages in the triple-digit temperatures.
“I’m concerned for those that can’t go somewhere and don’t have a generator, even if you do have a generator, running a fan isn’t going to get you through an outage when it’s 104 or 106 outside,” she said.
Several residents said they understand the need for the work. but said the utility company should wait until the heat wave is over.
“I don’t have any problems with the upgrades, I have no problem,” the customer said.
Customers also said they’ve already received more notices for planned outages later this month.
A PG&E spokesperson said they can’t move the work to another day, saying it’s hard to reschedule since they are working on several jobs at the same time.
They brought in extra manpower to finish the work as quickly as possible.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.
Read More: PG&E customers upset with planned outages during heat wave