Learn about Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS)

Public Safety Power Shutoff overview

High winds can bring tree branches and debris into contact with energized lines, damage equipment and ignite a wildfire. As a result, we may need to turn off power during severe weather to help prevent wildfires. This is called a Public Safety Power Shutoff.

Play the Public Safety Power
Shutoff overview video
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An outage timeline: what to expect

We share weather and equipment updates as soon as they are available. The timeline for a Public Safety Power Shutoff includes the following stages:

Severe weather forecasted

When: Up to a week before power is shut off

What: Our weather specialists forecast potential severe weather

Public Safety Power Shutoff Watch notification (outages likely)

When: Up to two days before power is shut off

What: We notify you if your address may be affected by a shutoff

Public Safety Power Shutoff Watch notification (outages likely)

When: Up to one day before power is shut off

What: We update you on the potential shutoff

Public Safety Power Shutoff Warning notifications (outages required)

When: One to four hours before power is shut off

NEW IN 2022 – PG&E is required by the California Public Utilities Commission to send “Public Safety Power Shutoff Warning” notifications 24 hours a day. You may receive phone calls, SMS texts and email notifications between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m.

What: We notify you if your address will be affected by a shutoff

Power is shut off

When: Once power has been shut off

NEW IN 2022 – PG&E is required by the California Public Utilities Commission to send “power is off” notifications 24 hours a day. You may receive phone calls, SMS texts and email notifications between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m.

What: We notify you that power has been turned off to prevent wildfires

When: Weather has improved and inspections and restoration activities have begun What: Our power crews inspect power lines to restore power to affected communities as quickly and safely as possible. W

Weather “all-clear” notification

When: After severe weather has passed

NEW IN 2022 – PG&E is required by the California Public Utilities Commission to send “all-clear” notifications 24 hours a day. You may receive phone calls, SMS texts and email notifications between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m.

What: We notify you that we are inspecting powerlines and provide restoration estimates

Estimated restoration notification

When: If we experience changes in our restoration estimates

What: We provide updates if there’s a change to our estimated time of restoration

Power is restored

When: Within 24 hours after severe weather has passed

NEW in 2022 – PG&E is required by the California Public Utilities Commission to send “power is restored” notifications 24 hours a day. You may receive phone calls, SMS texts and email notifications between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m.

What: We notify you when power has been restored

Learn more about Public Safety Power Shutoffs

Every wildfire season is different. Drought and local weather conditions will continue to determine the number of times we will need to shut off power. To find out more about the decision-making process, download the Safety Outage Decision-making Guide (PDF, 18.8 MB). To help you prepare and stay safe, we’ve provided the following resources: