SAN FRANCISCO
Strong storm expected to impact Northern and Central California Starting Saturday and extending into next Week
With meteorologists forecasting an impactful storm system this Saturday and into next week in Northern and Central California, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has thousands of workers standing by to respond to potential widespread power outages.
In advance of the storm, PG&E vegetation-management crews were out at press time Friday, working to keep trees away from powerlines during the forecasted wet and windy weather.
PG&E meteorologists, along with experts from the National Weather Service, forecast that the weather system is expected to begin across the north by Saturday afternoon and then spread east and south across our service area, delivering periods of gusty winds, widespread rain, heavy mountain snow and isolated thunderstorms. Most impacts of this stormy weather are likely to occur Sunday through Tuesday.
Rainfall totals with this system will be significant, with widespread totals of three to five inches of rain across the north, and rainfall equivalents of five to seven inches of rain likely across the northern Sierra. Significant snow in the Sierra above 5,000 feet is possible with multiple feet of accumulation in some locations. As the rain tracks southward through the storm’s progression, it will be joined by gusty winds, generally from the south, with expected widespread gusts of 30 to 40 miles per hour and localized gusts of at least 55 miles per hour possible in the higher terrain of PG&E’s service area.
“This strong storm has the potential to cause power outages due to significant rain, gusty winds and heavy snow in the mountains. We’re urging our customers to have a plan to keep themselves and their families safe. Our meteorology team is closely tracking the forecast and working with our crews in the field to ensure we’re ready to restore power safely and as quickly as possible,” said PG&E director of meteorology and fire science Scott Strenfel.
As seen with past storms, these wet and windy conditions might cause trees, limbs and other debris to fall into power lines, damage equipment and interrupt electric service. This remains a concern for this storm due to the drought-intensified conditions that weakened vegetation and could cause more trees to fall into our equipment and cause power outages.
PG&E’s meteorology team has developed a Storm Outage Prediction Model that incorporates real-time weather forecasts, historical data and system knowledge to accurately show where and when storm impacts will be most severe. This model enables the company to pre-stage crews and equipment as storms approach to enable rapid response to outages.
Workers are prepared to tackle restoration in challenging weather conditions and are supported by the utility’s geosciences team. Geosciences is monitoring potential post-wildfire debris flows from incoming rains which could impact PG&E’s equipment and vegetation around its equipment.
PG&E is also stockpiling power poles, power lines, transformers, and other electric equipment at yards throughout our service territory to restore power to impacted areas as quickly as possible.
We will also be activating local operations emergency centers throughout our service area in impacted regions to allocate all staff and resources to restoration efforts.
Keeping Customers Informed
PG&E knows how important it is to keep its customers informed. Customers can view real-time outage information on its website outage center and search by a specific address, by city or by county. This site has been updated to include in-language support for 16 languages.
Additionally, customers can sign up for outage notifications by text, email or phone. PG&E will let customers know the cause of an outage, when crews are on their way, the estimated restoration time, and when power is restored.
—Submitted
LOUISVILLE, KY.
Federal student loan repayment to resume in February
Borrowers who were able to pause their federal student loan repayment over the last 18 months will need to resume making payments soon, with interest beginning in February, according to KHEAA, a public, nonprofit agency established in 1966 to improve students’ access to college. It provides information about financial aid and financial literacy at no cost to students and parents.
The nonprofit advises borrowers to make sure their loan servicer has their current contact information. If you don’t know who your loan servicer is, you can find it by logging into your account at studentaid.gov. The information will be under the My Aid section.
Your loan servicer can also help if you expect to have trouble restarting repayment of your loans. In that case, contact your loan servicer as soon as possible. They can help you find the repayment plan that best fits your finances and could reduce your monthly payment.
KHEAA disburses private Advantage Education Loans on behalf of its sister agency, KHESLC. For more information, visit www.advantageeducationloan.com.
—Submitted
—Compiled by Ariel Carmona Jr.
