As PG&E pre-positions crews and other resources, the companyreminds its customers to stay safe and be prepared for possible outages.

Ahead of a pair of strong winter storms expected to bring heavy rain, strong winds and mountain snow to Northern and Central California during the holiday week, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) crews are readying to respond to expected power outages.

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The storms are forecast to move through the PG&E's service area with the first system arriving on Tuesday followed by the second system later in the day on Wednesday. They could result in widespread outage activity. PG&E's in-house meteorologist says parts of the North Coast could see from four to 10 inches of rain. Snow levels are expected to be above 6,000 feet.

PG&E has activated its Emergency Operations Center as well as regional and local storm rooms. Although impacts are anticipated system-wide, PG&E is pre-positioning additional crews where storm impact is expected to be most severe. More than 5,500 PG&E front-line coworkers and contractors will be on storm duty, including more than 1,500 gas and electric crew personnel and nearly 3,000 available tree workers.

"Just as PG&E prepares for natural disasters and emergencies, we encourage our customers to prepare as well," said Peter Kenny, PG&E's Senior Vice President of Electric Operations. "These storms have the potential to disrupt holiday plans; therefore, we have prepositioned resources and will be an all-hands-on-deck response from PG&E to safely restore power as quickly as possible."

The utility also has been communicating with cities and counties to share preparation and plans.

Storm Safety Tips

Just as PG&E follows its plan to prepare for and respond to a storm, customers are urged to prepare their families and neighbors as well. Here are some storm safety tips:

-- Never touch downed wires: If you see a downed power line, assume it is energized and extremely dangerous. Do not touch or try to move it-and keep children and animals away. Report downed power lines immediately by calling 9-1-1 and then PG&E at 1-800-743-5002.

-- Use generators safely: Customers with standby electric generators should ensure they are properly installed by a licensed electrician in a well-ventilated area. Improperly installed generators pose a significant danger to customers, as well as crews working on powerlines. If using portable generators, be sure they are in a well-ventilated area.

-- Use flashlights, not candles: During a power outage, use battery-operated flashlights and not candles, due to the risk of fire. And keep extra batteries on hand. If you must use candles, please keep them away from drapes, lampshades, animals and small children. Do not leave candles unattended.

-- Have a backup phone: If you have a telephone system that requires electricity to work, such as a cordless phone or answering machine, plan to have a standard telephone or cellular phone ready as a backup. Having a portable charging device helps to keep your cell phone running.

-- Have fresh drinking water and ice: Freeze plastic containers filled with water to make blocks of ice that can be placed in your refrigerator/freezer to prevent food spoilage.

-- Secure your outside furniture: Strong winds can blow lawn chairs and other outdoor items into powerlines.

-- Turn off appliances: If you experience an outage, unplug or turn off all electrical appliances to avoid overloading circuits and to prevent fire hazards when power is restored. Simply leave a single lamp on to alert you when power returns.

-- Safely clean up:After the storm has passed, be sure to safely clean up. Never touch downed wires and always call 8-1-1 or visit 811express.com at least two full business days before digging to have all underground utilities safely marked.

Faster Online Outage Info

If an outage does occur, PG&E'sonline outage centerhas been updated and improved based on customer feedback. Significant changes include:

-- Faster loading times to find important outage information.

-- An Outage Status Tracker so customers can get status updates on the assessment and repair of their outage.

-- More local information on the extent of outages around a customer's home and business

-- More information on how to prepare ahead of outages, what causes outages and how PG&E prioritizes restoration work.

PG&E will let customers know the cause of an outage, when crews are on their way, the estimated restoration time and when power has been restored.If receiving an outage text, customers can reply "status" to learn the latest information on the outage without visiting the outage page.

Other tips can be found at: Safety and Preparedness, Storm Safety, and Safety Action Center.

About PG&EPacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation(NYSE:PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than 16 million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit pge.comand pge.com/news

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SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company

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