Urgent Alert
What are rotating outages?
Heatwaves may strain the grid. To reduce the impact, CAISO may enact rotating outages.
CAISO decides when outages are needed
The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) decides when rotating outages are necessary to reduce demand on the power grid.
You'll be notified
You may be notified by text, email and/or phone before PG&E enacts a rotating outage in your area. Outages typically last 1-2 hours.
Outage times are only estimates
Remember—all outage start times are estimates. They're meant as guidelines, not definitive schedules.
Shutoff times may be postponed or cancelled
When demand for electricity is higher than supply, such as during a heat wave, Californians might be asked to use less energy. If enough people conserve electricity at once, rotating outages can be cancelled or postponed by an hour or more.
You may get Flex Alerts
The purpose of a Flex Alert is to encourage customers to conserve as much energy as they can during a designated period. The CAISO typically calls a Flex Alert when statewide forecasts are trending higher than average.
Rotating outages: what to expect
If the CAISO determines rotating outages are necessary, you can find out if and when you’ll be affected. Look up any address in our service area in the Outage Center.
Note: Shutoff times can be postponed or cancelled
When demand for electricity is higher than supply, such as during a heat wave, Californians might be asked to use less energy. If enough people conserve electricity at once, rotating outages can be cancelled or postponed by an hour or more.
Rotating outages during an Energy Emergency Alert 3 (EEA 3) become necessary when the CAISO is unable to meet minimum Contingency Reserve requirements and load interruption is imminent or in progress. These emergencies are issued by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO).
CAISO will typically order the state's utilities, including PG&E, to reduce electrical load by turning off service immediately, in order to prevent larger outages on the grid. Due to the emergency nature of these outages, we may not be able to give advance warning to customers.
If we are in a situation that requires the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) to call for rotating outages, PG&E will communicate to customers through local media, social media and phone calls to alert them of the situation.
Due to the emergency nature of these outages, we may not be able to give advance warning to customers. Customers are being asked to conserve power and plan for the possibility of losing power for a brief period of time, should an Energy Emergency Alert 3 (EEA 3) be issued by the CAISO.
A rotating outage typically lasts one to two hours. We manage and rotate the outage across blocks of customers throughout the service territory to protect the integrity of our electric system, while limiting the inconvenience to any one customer or community.
Your block's shutoff time was pushed into the next timeslot because a shutoff wasn’t needed. For example, if your block was estimated to be shut off from 4-5 p.m. and a shutoff wasn't required, your block becomes first on the list for 5-6 p.m. This continues until the risk for outage passes completely or until rotating outages are enacted.
In the event of an Energy Emergency Alert 3 (EEA 3), the CAISO will communicate to California's utilities the amount of energy load (in megawatts), they need to take offline. PG&E then selects the number of blocks in our service territory that, when taken offline, will meet the required reduction in energy.
The CAISO maintains reliability on California's energy system, one of the largest and most modern power grids in the world.
As the statewide power grid operator, the CAISO works diligently around the clock to meet the electricity needs of consumers, while increasing the amount of renewable energy to usher in the clean, green grid of the future.
PG&E, along with the San Diego Gas and Electric and Southern California Edison are participating members in the CAISO, and coordinate on the topics of energy demand and reliability.
Flex Alerts are part of a state-wide program run by the CAISO which manages the power grid in California.
The purpose of a Flex Alert is to encourage customers to conserve as much energy as they can during a designated period. The ISO typically calls a Flex Alert when state-wide forecasts are trending higher than average.
Yes, we account for energy savings from some of our larger customers who are incentivized to save when we need it the most. PG&E employs Demand Response programs in order to incentive customers to conserve power during periods of high demand. Some of our larger customers who are running businesses that require a lot of energy are given an incentive to shift their load when energy demand is trending higher than average.
No. These rotation outages called for by the CAISO are not Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events. PSPS events are the result of extreme weather, that makes it necessary to temporarily turn off power to reduce the risk of wildfire. Customers receive advance notice in the event of a PSPS.
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