PG&E May Cut Power to 48,864 Customers on California Fire Risk

(Bloomberg) -- PG&E Corp. said it may need to cut power to 48,864 customer accounts, or about 146,600 people, in parts of Northern California to reduce the chances of its equipment starting blazes as fire risk rises.

California’s largest utility is forecasting a so-called Diablo wind event developing by Wednesday that could require PG&E to turn off power in 21 counties including parts of Oakland and in the Northern California wine country resort town of Calistoga, according to a statement posted Monday on the company’s website.

PG&E has been resorting to power shutoffs to prevent its electrical lines from sparking wildfires after its equipment was blamed for causing some of California’s worst blazes, forcing the company into bankruptcy last year. PG&E emerged from Chapter 11 in July after having paid $25.5 billion to resolve fire claims.

On Friday, the utility said state investigators were looking at some of its equipment in an investigation into the cause of the Zogg fire, which originated in Shasta County last month and killed four people.

Record-breaking wildfires in California this year have charred more than 4 million acres, killed 31 people and destroyed more than 9,200 homes and businesses, according to the state’s fire agency.

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