LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Strain on the state’s power system has led to the call for rolling blackouts, which local officials said are expected to take place on Monday evening in Lake County.
At 4:25 p.m. Monday, the Clearlake Police Department issued a Nixle alert reporting that it was just informed that Pacific Gas and Electric expected to initiate rolling blackouts impacting all areas of Lake County.
The agency said outages are expected to begin as soon as 5 p.m. with power being restored around 8 p.m.
It is expected that individual areas will be impacted for approximately one hour, police said.
At 4:40 p.m., the county of Lake reported that it had also just learned of the possibility of rolling blackouts, but with a larger window during which they could occur – through 10 p.m.
“This is not a Public Safety Power Shutoff event, but electricity could be temporarily unavailable in portions or all of Lake and Sonoma Counties,” the county said in its alert.
“Whether or not blackouts ultimately occur will depend on weather and electricity supply and demand, but the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) has advised it is possible, so we wanted to ensure Lake County residents are aware, and have opportunity to prepare,” the county’s statement said.
The California ISO on Sunday issued a statewide Flex Alert, calling for electricity conservation through Wednesday due to the strain on the power grid resulting from the ongoing heatwave.
Pacific Gas and Electric on Monday also called Lake County customers to warn them that rolling blackouts may be necessary.
Some areas of the state experienced rolling blackouts over the weekend, including approximately 220,000 impacted customers in portions of the Central Coast and Central Valley, including Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Joaquin counties on Saturday, PG&E said.
California ISO reported on its Twitter account on Monday afternoon that due to traffic volume, its main website had gone temporarily offline. It was restored later with a note on the top of the site that read, “Due to high traffic, site performance may be impacted.”
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Rolling blackouts expected in Lake County; blackouts could begin as soon as 5 p.m. Monday
- Elizabeth Larson
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