Update: 5:40 p.m. All power has been restored by PG&E.
Paul Moreno, PG&E Marketing and Communications Principal in Chico, explained that a technician discovered a damaged bushing on a transformer, and PG&E shut off power to the transformer for safety.
Chico Police Department Officer Shane Carpenter says that PG&E is treating the blackout as a “potential high-risk attack on the grid.”
Update : 4:41 p.m. Message from Chico State gives permission for faculty to cancel classes. Employees may finish work from home.
Chico State is experiencing power outages across campus and downtown. Students are reporting loss of power and Wi-Fi in their campus buildings, such as University Village, Tehama Hall, Mechoopda Hall, Holt Hall and Konkow Hall.
The university sent an alert by text, call and email, acknowledging the campus-wide power outage. Pacific Gas and Electric Company is currently investigating the cause. The alert came approximately 10 minutes after the first reports of power being off on campus.
According to the PG&E website, as of 4:30 p.m., power is off for 7,414, including customers from The Avenues through South Campus.
PG&E sent message alerts to affected customers estimating power to be back on by 6:30 p.m.
“It’s part of a larger outage affecting west Chico and we are working closely with PG&E,” said Ashley Gebb, Chief of Staff to the Office of the President.
This story will be updated once more information becomes available.
Josephine Bowman can be reached at [email protected]
