Starting Monday, July 6, PG&E will send conduct pre-inspection helicopter flights over Sonoma County, including Sonoma Valley, to improve its Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) program.
“With the increased wildfire threat our state faces, PG&E is enhancing and expanding our efforts to reduce wildfire risks and keep our customers and communities safe,” according to utility spokesperson Deanne Contreras. “This includes improving our PSPS program by making events smaller in size and shorter in length.”
The fly-overs will not affect power to homes and businesses.
Contreras said the pre-inspections help crews execute future patrols more efficiently and provide key information to better determine the timing for restoring electric service to customers.
Helicopters will fly low, roughly 100 feet, Monday through Friday, but not necessarily every day, between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Flights will be staged out of Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport.
Last fall during extreme winds, PG&E declared several PSPS events, and drew criticism for the delays — up to 72 hours in some areas — in getting power back on. “That’s why PG&E’s goal this year is to reduce the number of customers affected by potential PSPS events by nearly one-third compared to a similar weather event last year and restore power within 12 daylight hours after the severe weather has passed,” Contreras said.
For questions, please call 1-800-PGE-5000.
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