CHESTER — PG&E has scheduled a planned power outage for Chester on Saturday, Sept. 27, while crews make upgrades to improve electric reliability. The outage is scheduled to take place between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. and will impact approximately 2,500 customers in virtually all of Chester and small portions of Lake Almanor and Westwood.
The 12-hour service interruption is necessary so crews can safely install five new wooden utility poles that support both electric transmission and distribution power lines between Hamilton Branch and Chester. The newer poles will be stronger and more reliable, thereby reducing the likelihood of future unplanned power outages in the area.
“We apologize for the inconvenience that this planned outage will have on our customers in the Chester area but we are confident that the upgrades will lead to fewer power outages there,” said Lia White, manager of PG&E’s North Valley Division leadership team.
Work will be going on simultaneously in several locations so as to minimize the outage time. While poles are being replaced, PG&E crews also will perform maintenance at the Chester substation. Other crews will also work in Chester to replace pole cross arms.
PG&E already has notified customers in the area by mail about the upcoming work.
PG&E continues to make significant progress in electric reliability that benefits customers throughout its service area. Customers in Northern and Central California experienced the fewest service interruptions and shortest duration of power outages in company history last year. Customers have seen a 40 percent improvement in the average duration of service disruptions and a 27 percent improvement in the number of customer interruptions since 2006.
Email Currents at currents@pge.com.