SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- As a powerful weather system continues to batter Northern and Central California, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) crews are working around the clock to restore service to customers and repair damage to electrical equipment throughout the utility's service area.

Since the storm hit on Wednesday, Dec. 10, the utility has restored service to more than 252,000 customers who had lost power. PG&E has devoted 355 crews to the response effort, including additional contractors from Oregon, Washington and Southern California.

Strong winds and heavy rain have caused widespread and significant damage throughout the utility's 70,000-square-mile service area. There also has been significant snowfall. As of 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 11, about 35,000 customers were still without power.

For the latest information on power outages and restoration updates, visit www.pge.com from your mobile device or desktop, or call 1-800-743-5002. Updates also will be provided on PG&E's Twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/pge4me and on PG&E's Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pacificgasandelectric.

Total restoration will vary across the service territory based on when the storm arrived. Areas throughout the service territory were impacted:

North Region: Sonoma and Humboldt Counties were hit particularly hard by the storm, and extensive damage and flooding could delay restoration in some areas. Shelters for customers experiencing extended power outages have been set up at the Guerneville Veterans Building, Santa Rosa Veterans Building, and the Petaluma Veterans Building, courtesy of the County of Sonoma and the local chapter of the American Red Cross.

Bay Area: An outage at a substation serving downtown San Francisco caused many customers to lose power. PG&E estimates all power to be restored later today.

Central Coast: Access to the Santa Cruz mountains may be difficult due to flash floods.

Central Valley: Outside of Stockton, the storm impact was minimal.

"Our crews are working non-stop to bring power back on as soon as possible," said Chris Johns, President of PG&E. "We thank our customers for their patience as we restore power during this major storm."

PG&E offers these tips to help customers stay safe during the storm:

• Always treat low hanging and downed power lines as if they are energized and extremely dangerous. Keep yourself and others away from them. Be aware of trees, pools of water and other objects that may be in contact with power lines. If you see damaged power lines or electrical equipment, call 911 immediately and then notify PG&E at 1-800-743-5002.
• During a power outage, use battery-operated flashlights, and not candles, due to the risk of fire. If you must use candles, please keep them away from drapes, lampshades, holiday trees and small children. Do not leave candles unattended.
• Customers with generators should make sure they are properly installed by a licensed electrician in a well-ventilated area. Improperly installed generators pose a significant danger to crews working on power lines.
• If you experience an outage, unplug or turn off all electrical appliances to avoid overloading circuits and to prevent fire hazards when power is restored. Simply leave a single lamp on to alert you when power returns. Turn your appliances back on one at a time when conditions return to normal.

About PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/ and www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/index.page.

http://www.pgecurrents.com
http://www.facebook.com/pacificgasandelectric
http://www.twitter.com/pge4me
http://www.linkedin.com/company/pacific-gas-and-electric-company
http://www.youtube.com/user/pgevideo

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pge-responds-to-largest-storm-in-years-300008939.html

SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)