What caused SLO’s third power outage in as many days? Here’s what PG&E says
More than 2,300 customers in San Luis Obispo were without power Tuesday — a day where it was expected to reach 102 degrees.
According to PG&E’s outage map, power went out for 2,312 customers at 2:19 p.m. The outage was concentrated in the Laguna Lake area of San Luis Obispo.
The Toyota dealership on Los Osos Valley Road had canceled all car service appointments because of the blackout, and the street light at Los Osos Valley Road and Calle Joaquin was out as well. Stores like Target and Dick’s Sporting Goods, as well as the shops in the Bear Valley Shopping Center were all briefly without power for roughly an hour.
The faulty light resulted in traffic backing up in both directions on Los Osos Valley Road, and onto Higuera Street in the right turn lane onto LOVR.
The same area — and same number of customers — also saw a power outage yesterday around the same time. There was also a similar outage on Sunday.
PG&E spokesperson Carina Corral told The Tribune via email that the three outages experienced by area residents over the past three days were was caused by what she called “enhanced powerline safety settings.”
The safety settings automatically shut off power within one-tenth of a second if there is a wildfire risk, Corral said, such as a tree limb or other object hitting a powerline.
“We recognize the inconvenience this causes for our customers and appreciate their patience as we work to resolve this issue,” Corral said. “While EPSS technology makes our electric system safer for our customers, it may also result in more frequent, and sometimes longer-duration outages.”
Power was restored to most customers by 4:20 p.m.
The outages come amid a record-breaking heat wave that is expected to last until Thursday evening.
This story was originally published September 6, 2022 at 2:56 PM.
