More Power Cuts
November 8, 2019
Rebecca Mordechai

More than 500,000 people in Northern and central California remained without power on October 30. This was due to cuts by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) as wildfires swept through the state.
A week earlier, nearly 3 million people were without power in the largest planned outage in California history. Power is gradually being restored.
PG&E says the cuts prevent electrical equipment from sparking new fires. “We will not roll the dice when it comes to public safety,” said company president Andy Vesey.
At a press conference on October 24, California governor Gavin Newsom called the blackouts “infuriating.” In response to the cuts, he announced a $75 million plan. It is partly designed to help vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, during major power outages.