Outages Possible In Calistoga During Nightly Tests: PG&E

CALISTOGA, CA — Power interruptions may occur this week in Calistoga as Pacific Gas and Electric Company performs nightly field tests on new technology that has shown to significantly reduce the risk of power lines starting wildfires.

PG&E will test its Rapid Earth Fault Current Limiter —REFCL — equipment nightly from 11 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

"The installation and testing of Rapid Earth Fault Current Limiter (or REFCL), represents a substantial step toward improving the safety and reliability of the electric system in Calistoga," PG&E North Bay Spokesperson Deanna Contreras said.

This technology, which is new to North America, detects and neutralizes previously undetectable incidents impacting the electric grid such as vegetation contact and other faults that cause a wire to come down, according to PG&E.

"When the technology detects such a fault or impact to the powerline, it instantaneously reduces the energy flowing through the fault to below ignition levels," Contreras said.

PG&E installed the technology in 2021 as part of a pilot project that included the main system at the Calistoga substation and its other components attached to distribution poles throughout the Calistoga area.

Although PG&E does not foresee any disruption in customer service during the testing March 22-26, it is possible an outage could take place during the scheduled times, Contreras said. PG&E has protocols in place to ensure power is restored within 4 to 8 hours, should an outage occur, she said.

The company is asking Calistoga customers to prepare for a potential outage as they normally would when a winter storm or heatwave impacts Napa County.

Calistoga customers this week are advised to:

• Fully charge your cell phones each day and consider adding a battery-powered portable phone charger to your emergency kit.
• Practice opening and closing your garage door manually in case you need to leave.
• Make sure PG&E has your contact information and sign up for outage alerts either via text or automated phone call by visiting pge.com/outages or by calling 800-PGE-5000.

During testing, PG&E will also evaluate how REFCL technology interacts with other emerging technologies on the grid and with PG&E’s Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings — new settings implemented last year to reduce fire ignitions by similarly increasing the speed at which safety devices turn off the power in response to faults that could result in a fire.