PG&E having planned power outages in Carmel Valley to upgrade power poles and transformers

CARMEL VALLEY, Calif. (KION-TV)- UPDATE JANUARY 19, 2024 5:37 PM: Planned outage on January 19th canceled due to weather conditions. PG&E has not rescheduled a new date at this time.

PG&E will be having planned power outages to work on power lines along Carmel Valley Road.

Company officials said that this planned outage will improve reliability and enhance safety.

Here is the list of the following planned power outages.

January 19: 51 customers will lose power from 9 pm - 9 am **CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER. NEW DATE TBD**

January 30: 480 customers will be impacted between 9 pm-9 am **NO OUTAGES SCHEDULED**

February 2: 66 customers will be impacted between 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

February 12: 133 customers will be impacted between 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Upgrades to 20 power poles, 12 new transformers, and powerlines will be implemented in the area.

Carmel Valley Road between Holman and San Clemente will be closed during the dates and times listed above.

People in Carmel Valley say power outages are pretty common in the area. And after two years of living there, Helen Spade agrees.

"We were pretty shocked when we moved out here because of the power outages," said Spade. "We were shocked that there were so many."

This may not be the last time she experiences a power outage over the month.

PG&E is planning four other power shutoffs impacting over 1,000 Carmel Valley customers.

"PG&E is hardening the system that supports Big Sur, the Carmel highlands, and of course the Carmel Valley, which is all very high fire risk," said Stephanie Magallon, who is a public information officer for PG&E. "Right. So last night we started the process of hardening that system,"

PG&E did not provide a map of what customers will be affected during the outage.

This will be the first of several planned power outages in the Carmel Valley area throughout the next month.

PG&E says these efforts are to improve reliability, decrease the frequency of power shut-offs and most importantly reduce wildfire risk.

"This is all about protecting a community that's considered high fire risk," Magallon said.

A customer I spoke to says she's not in favor of PG&E planning these shut-offs during cold winter nights.

PG&E says they chose this time because of the capacity of the grid, and during the summertime, it's harder to take the lines out. PG&E says notifications are sent before shutoffs so people can prepare.

"I've got candles all over my house now," says Spade.