PG&E warned it could carry out more power shutoffs through Saturday as fire conditions keep threatening the California grid, potentially affecting more than two dozen counties.
Pacific Gas & Electric warned that more planned shutoffs are likely this week, beginning Wednesday, as the California grid continues to face elevated risk of fire following an extended heat wave and hot, dry winds.
The shutoffs, potentially affecting more than two dozen counties, mostly in northern and central California, could continue through Saturday. The utility "is currently monitoring potential for another round of offshore winds Wednesday through Saturday," according to its website. "Elevated fire weather conditions will be present across much of the territory later this week."
Over the past two weeks, a heat wave led the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) and utilities to take precautionary measures, but the grid appears to have remained mostly stable.
CAISO issued Restricted Maintenance Operations on Oct. 5, 6, 7 and 8, according to live data collated by Ask The Grid. The ISO put out six alerts, two for Southern California and four for all of CAISO. During the heat wave, demand peaked at around 46,000 MW on Oct. 5, according to CAISO data.
CAISO issued a Restricted Maintenance Operations notice for Oct. 5 and 6, urging suppliers to avoid jeopardizing generation or transmission availability. The ISO said it did not forecast "any supply shortfalls at this time, but wanted to prepare consumers in the event that we need to call a Flex Alert," NBC Los Angeles reported.
In CAISO's Grid Emergencies History Report, last revised Oct. 9, the ISO lists six Restricted Maintenance Operations incidents for 2026 but zero Flex Alerts, Energy Emergency Alert Watch or transmission emergency incidents. CAISO's Restricted Maintenance Operations was also in place Oct. 7, 8, 9 and 10, according to the report.
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) first warned customers of potential shutoffs due to wildfire conditions on Sept. 30, and on Oct. 1 asked customers to take steps to manage their energy use for the sake of grid reliability.
On Oct. 1, the National Weather Service Los Angeles warned of a "very dangerous and long lasting heat wave" beginning Oct. 2 and lasting through the following week.
SDG&E shutoffs began Oct. 2, affecting an area containing 35,000 customers, the Times of San Diego reported. The utility cited "extreme heat, high winds and severe wildfire conditions."
In addition to the planned outages, SDG&E customers reported local outages, NBC San Diego reported. "Prolonged periods of extreme heat can increase stress on the electric system and may contribute to localized unplanned outages," the utility said.
On Oct. 4, SDG&E provided an all-clear, saying shutoff conditions had passed but that it would "continue to closely monitor an ongoing period of extreme heat affecting San Diego and Orange counties. Prolonged high temperatures can increase energy demand across the region and may contribute to localized outages."
PG&E said in an Oct. 9 release that, due to elevated wildfire risk conditions, it had begun "de-energizing targeted areas of Fresno, Kern, Kings, San Benito and San Luis Obispo counties," affecting up to "12,200 customers in 17 counties and three tribal areas."
The utility restored power and issued all-clear notices on Oct. 10, but the following day announced shutoffs to targeted areas in Colusa, Glenn, Shasta, Tehama and Yolo counties, which it said "could affect approximately 12,200 customers across 17 counties and three tribal areas."