PG&E Release Statement Following Series of Bakersfield Blackouts

PG&E Release Statement Following Series of Bakersfield Blackouts

After a power outage last night in southwest Bakersfield that impacted approximately 8,000 customer’s, PG&E have released a statement:

We understand how troubling it is for customers to go without power for extended periods of time. Equipment failure can result from acts of nature such as severe weather events like a heat wave, winter storm, earthquakes and other natural events.  That’s why we continually invest in installing new grid technology, hardening the electric system, and performing enhanced vegetation management.

Despite our best efforts, no utility can ever be completely interruption-proof.

A series of heat related outages occurred in Bakersfield starting in the evening of Friday, July 9 through the morning of Tuesday, July 13. Unseasonably elevated temperatures caused extensive equipment related damage resulting in an abnormally high amount of outages, with longer durations than we usually experience.

Last night’s outage (beginning Tuesday, July 13 at 5:30pm) impacting approximately 8,000 customers was not heat related. As the cause of the outage is still under investigation, it is believed to be equipment failure unrelated to the heat. A majority of customers were restored late Tuesday night with 20 customers expected to experience a sustained outage as necessary repairs are made.

PG&E crews have been in the surrounding areas working around the clock to safely restore power to impacted customers. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate the customers patience as we work to quickly and safely restore power in affected areas.

We encourage customers to sign up for outage alerts to get the most up to date information.

Link to updates here