PG&E Power Outage Shut Off: Agency explains why turning power back on could take 5 days

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Pacific Gas and Electric says it could take as long as five days to turn the power back on for nearly 800,000 customers across California.

It's part of preemptive power shutdown due to fire danger, impacting the Bay Area and surrounding counties.

MAPS: PG&E power outage is affecting these Bay Area cities

The utility says re-energizing power lines takes time. Crews will need to inspect every power line by land and air before restoring power.

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"We hope to be able to restore power within 24 to 48 hours, however we are taking about a large swath of our service territory. We have helicopters, ground crews that will be inspecting every foot of our wires and our electrical components to make sure that there is no damage, "PG&E spokesman Mark Mesesan said. "If there is damage, then that could possibly extend the length of the outage. We will not restore power until it is absolutely safe to do so."

For the latest stories about PG&E's Public Safety Power Shutoff go here.

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