PG&E: Rotating power outages may happen Thursday if demand exceeds supply

(KION) PG&E is warning customers that some Californians may experience rolling power outages Thursday evening.

The outages happen when electricity demand is higher than supply, according to the utility. First, Cal ISO issues a Flex Alert in an effort to get Californians to conserve energy, but if demand remains high, PG&E schedules rotating outages to prevent large blackouts.

The territory PG&E covers is divided into blocks, and each block usually includes several streets. If the utility decides a shutoff is needed, the power is turned off for some blocks for about 1 to 2 hours.

The potential rotating outages are scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, and they may affect blocks 1K, 1L, 1M, 1N, 1O, 1P, 1Q, 1R, 1S, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, and 2E. The CBS affiliate in Sacramento reports that some of the affected areas are in parts of Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties.

Find out if your home is in one of the outage blocks with the Outage Block Lookup tool here.

PG&E said more than 50% of its customers are in outage block 50, which shares a circuit with critical facilities such as hospitals, police stations or fire departments.

If enough energy is conserved, shutoffs may be canceled or postponed.