SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- With a major storm now heading toward Northern and Central California, PG&E is reminding customers that power outages may occur this week due to significant rainfall, potential flooding and high winds. PG&E is implementing its emergency preparedness plans and utilizing advanced technology to be ready to restore service to impacted customers safely and as quickly as possible.

"With storms bearing down on our region, we want our customers to know that PG&E has a plan, is mobilizing resources and will work around the clock to restore service to customers," said Geisha Williams, Executive Vice President of Electric Operations. "Likewise, we encourage our customers to have a personal or family preparedness plan in place and - above all else - stay safe as winter weather arrives in our area."

PG&E crews are prepared and ready to respond to power outages as soon as weather conditions permit the safe restoration of power. The utility is also pre-positioning contract power restoration and vegetation management crews.

PG&E routinely practices its preparedness and response to storms and other emergencies through company exercises and through drills with local first responders. The company also utilizes the latest technology to restore power more quickly and efficiently after a storm. This includes the use of storm outage prediction models, the installation of automated equipment that "self-heals" the electric grid as well as timely and accurate outage data from its network of more than 4.5 million electric SmartMeters.

PG&E urges customers to stay safe during storms and remember the following safety tips:


    --  Always treat low hanging and downed power lines as if they are energized
        and extremely dangerous. Keep yourself and others away from them. Be
        aware that trees, pools of water and other objects that may be in
        contact with power lines. If you see damaged power lines or electrical
        equipment, call 911 immediately and then notify PG&E at 1-800-743-5002.
    --  During a power outage, use battery-operated flashlights, and not
        candles, due to the risk of fire. If you must use candles, please keep
        them away from drapes, lampshades, holiday trees and small children. Do
        not leave candles unattended.
    --  Customers with generators should make sure they are properly installed
        by a licensed electrician in a well-ventilated area. Improperly
        installed generators pose a significant danger to crews working on power
        lines.
    --  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. Turn your appliances back on one at a time when
        conditions return to normal.

About PG&E
 Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 23,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com and www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/index.page.

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SOURCE PG&E