A squirrel that made contact with an underground cable led to a power outage that disrupted service for 4,462 Palo Alto Utilities customers downtown on Wednesday morning, according to the Utilities Department.
The outage started around 7:30 a.m., according to Jordan Cowman, communications project coordinator at the Utilities Department. All of the impacted customers had power restored by 9:35 a.m.
Utilities staff who responded to the outage found the squirrel near the affected cable, which had to be replaced before they resumed service for all of the impacted customers, Cowman said.
The Police Department asked the public not to call 911 regarding the outage. They referred the public to look for updates at twitter.com/PAUtilities.
Wednesday morning's outage is the city's third large power outage this week. On Monday night, service went out for 4,462 customers in the southern end of the city due to a bad transformer and cable. On Tuesday evening, the Utilities Department briefly shut down power for about 1,700 customers in response to an energy emergency alert implemented in response to a heat wave across California, which is expected to stress the state's power grid.
Comments
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Sep 7, 2022 at 8:07 am
Registered user
on Sep 7, 2022 at 8:07 am
Is this another rolling brief blackout?
Is this the same area that lost power yesterday, or Monday?
Registered user
Mayfield
on Sep 7, 2022 at 8:27 am
Registered user
on Sep 7, 2022 at 8:27 am
The map seems to show the loss of power in South Palo Alto, not downtown.
Registered user
University South
on Sep 7, 2022 at 8:33 am
Registered user
on Sep 7, 2022 at 8:33 am
Agreed this doesn’t seem to be downtown
Let’s also not forget the outage 2 weeks ago that left many of us without power for 16 hours!!!!
Registered user
Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Sep 7, 2022 at 10:05 am
Registered user
on Sep 7, 2022 at 10:05 am
Start issuing refunds. Maybe that will incentive CPAU to start updating the outage maps instead of wasting our time.
Registered user
Old Palo Alto
on Sep 7, 2022 at 10:19 am
Registered user
on Sep 7, 2022 at 10:19 am
If Palo Alto is striving to be an all-electric city, it's time to prioritize increasing the reliability of PA's electric utility service. The natural gas system NEVER goes offline except during earthquakes. The electrical supply system seems to go offline many times per year.
Registered user
Palo Verde
on Sep 7, 2022 at 10:55 am
Registered user
on Sep 7, 2022 at 10:55 am
I agree with "OldPA Resident". It's time for the city council to tell us why the current grid has gotten so unreliable and what is going to be done to improve it.
If we are going to become more reliant on electricity for heating and transportation, our local grid need to be improved both for capacity and reliability.
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Sep 7, 2022 at 11:18 am
Registered user
on Sep 7, 2022 at 11:18 am
The problem is LOAD. When it is this hot, a lot of businesses and residents simultaneously turn on air conditioning equipment that sucks a lot of energy. It is time for all of us to use energy more conservatively. I grew up turning off lights when I left a room, turning off appliances when they weren't in use. Today, people leave computers on for hours without touching them. We also have appliances that suck energy even when not in use with all their fancy, unnecessary clocks and LEDs. Each of those appliances is a "vampire" sucking a little power, but in aggregate, they are using a LOT of power. Corporations sell this stuff because we buy it. Start thinking more about energy use when considering appliance purchases.
At night, our home has a ceiling fan that goes to the roof. We turn it on to suck out the lighter hot air from the house and pull in the cool evening air through open windows before we go to bed. We close the house while we sleep, of course. During the day, we keep windows and doors shut and covered to retain the cool night air. Our home is well insulated and has double-pane windows. This generally works pretty well to keep the house cool without air conditioning.
These are just a few of the things we have done to reduce the load we put on the grid. Let's, each of us, ask what can I do to help? This is a very real climate emergency. Let's DO something before it is too late. Together, we can preserve a livable planet for our beloved children and grandchildren.
Registered user
Green Acres
on Sep 7, 2022 at 12:53 pm
Registered user
on Sep 7, 2022 at 12:53 pm
@Consider
As the data show, global greenhouse gas levels will be determined by what China does (and India etc), no longer by what we do. California's premature shut down of gas power plants that could be activated in foreseeable situations like this one has led to our current blackout situation. It is rumored that Gov. Newsom kept Diablo Canyon open because he is worried about becoming the next Gray Davis if he can't even assure our supply of electricity.
Registered user
Green Acres
on Sep 7, 2022 at 12:54 pm
Registered user
on Sep 7, 2022 at 12:54 pm
We experienced this morning's unexplained outage in south PA; PA Utilities transparency issues seem to be continuing.
Registered user
Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Sep 7, 2022 at 3:29 pm
Registered user
on Sep 7, 2022 at 3:29 pm
The transparency issues have dated back through at least 2 city managers who refused to let city managers talk to reporters and to all but a few residents.
Registered user
Downtown North
on Sep 7, 2022 at 4:11 pm
Registered user
on Sep 7, 2022 at 4:11 pm
I think we can all agree that squirrels are horrible.
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Sep 7, 2022 at 4:16 pm
Registered user
on Sep 7, 2022 at 4:16 pm
Is anyone making a spread sheet of all these excuses? Squirrels, geese, gulls, balloons, fallen branches, downed trees, faulty equipment, poor maintenance, plane crash!
This sounds like a sketch from SNL. No longer funny.
Registered user
Duveneck/St. Francis
on Sep 7, 2022 at 4:54 pm
Registered user
on Sep 7, 2022 at 4:54 pm
I am left with so many questions. What happened to the squirrel? 'Makes contact' is totally unclear as to his or her intentions. I've seen these squirrels carelessly running about. Also, "staff who responded to the outage found the squirrel near the affected cable"...why no pictures?
Registered user
Barron Park
on Sep 7, 2022 at 8:25 pm
Registered user
on Sep 7, 2022 at 8:25 pm
You forgot the most important detail - what happened to the squirrel?
Registered user
Barron Park
on Sep 7, 2022 at 8:48 pm
Registered user
on Sep 7, 2022 at 8:48 pm
@online name -- you're not paying for the power you didn't use, why should you expect a refund for something you didn't pay for?
Registered user
Old Palo Alto
on Sep 7, 2022 at 9:25 pm
Registered user
on Sep 7, 2022 at 9:25 pm
@DNTPaul the squirrels who are terrible are the highly paid ones at City Hall hiding their nuts behind huge salaries with full benefits. Ignoring decades of growing, serious and unsafe infrastructure problems crying the ballooning costs of upgrades and replacements — contracting with companies who transform Black water by Leaching salt water from organic elements. It’s quite concerning that in a few Pandemic induced years costs from Top Ramen to train grade separation and other has quadrupled in price. BTW another reason robotic residential parking lifts are a dumb trick of unreason. When the electric grid goes down the lift. good luck picking up your little one from Kinder or getting to the emergency room or getting your elderly mom from PT after her mini stroke from the heat. May the late 20th Century dirty three letter word tax become normal again — this could help in our new world disorder!
Registered user
Evergreen Park
on Sep 7, 2022 at 10:44 pm
Registered user
on Sep 7, 2022 at 10:44 pm
Is squirrel ok ???
Registered user
Green Acres
on Sep 7, 2022 at 11:28 pm
Registered user
on Sep 7, 2022 at 11:28 pm
It was out south PA green acres and fletcher jr high…. And they restored it earlier… 845… so not sure if that was separate
Registered user
Old Palo Alto
on Sep 8, 2022 at 12:31 am
Registered user
on Sep 8, 2022 at 12:31 am
@CalAveLocal No the squirrel is not okay and neither is our electric infrastructure grid or street underground sewage pipes or wastewater treatment plants, or the drought, the heat or climate change, the cost of housing. Nor is driving under the influence or riding a bike at night without a light. The important question; are you okay ? Yet as many instructors told me. No question is ever silly !
Registered user
Old Palo Alto
on Sep 8, 2022 at 6:26 am
Registered user
on Sep 8, 2022 at 6:26 am
Climate change is real, and we simply need to transition to energy sources that do not generate carbon. As for electric power, the core issue is not how it is generated -- that is the easy problem -- its the distribution infrastructure. Even if one doesn't believe in climate change, or thinks there is nothing that can be done about, we should at least agree that we badly need to update our electrical distribution system. It is undersized, unreliable and too often unsafe.
Registered user
Midtown
on Sep 8, 2022 at 7:00 am
Registered user
on Sep 8, 2022 at 7:00 am
"As the data show, global greenhouse gas levels will be determined by what China does (and India etc), no longer by what we do."
^ Then what is the point of the United States having stricter emissions mandates than the larger scale polluters?
Registered user
Duveneck/St. Francis
on Sep 8, 2022 at 7:17 am
Registered user
on Sep 8, 2022 at 7:17 am
Was the squirrel splooting?
Registered user
Barron Park
on Sep 8, 2022 at 10:27 am
Registered user
on Sep 8, 2022 at 10:27 am
@M - I do not disagree that distribution is an *extremely* critical issue. However, I think that electrcity generation is not an easy problem to solve. First, the scale that would be required (think electric car mandate and all those cars here and in LA!). Second, electricity generating facilities take years (in some cases, decades) until they are in production.....and then there are the environmental concerns (read as: environmentalists delaying the projects - for years/decades - by filing lawsuits). So although the ways to generate electricity are fairly clear - the odds of actually getting it done in the timeframe required are next to zero. And we are already, as current conditions demonstrate, behind.......
Registered user
Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Sep 8, 2022 at 10:38 am
Registered user
on Sep 8, 2022 at 10:38 am
@Gordon, I totally agree that getting it done is unlikely and I hope that for once our politicians recognize that REAlISTIC timetables are more important than slogans and virtue signalling.
Be VERY wary of politicians preaching the wonders of ditching cars without major public transit improvements, ditching our old reliable cheaper gas furnaces and appliances to end up powerless (in both senses) during all the next outages... ,
Registered user
Meadow Park
on Sep 8, 2022 at 2:30 pm
Registered user
on Sep 8, 2022 at 2:30 pm
Third outage this year for me. We're remodeling and putting in solar with (extremely expensive) Tesla Powerwall backup. Is that the plan? Everyone must have electrical, not cheap carbon unnoticeable natural gas generators (firing up a gas generator for 10hrs/year has zero impact on climate).
Seriously, Palo Alto's grid needs some serious review -- invite the squirrels.
Registered user
College Terrace
on Sep 8, 2022 at 3:52 pm
Registered user
on Sep 8, 2022 at 3:52 pm
Putting in solar? Great idea but I hope you are prepared to wait months for the City to complete the battery hook up. Getting residents to go solar is supposedly a goal, but somehow it seems to be a low priority goal. Good luck.
Registered user
Community Center
on Sep 8, 2022 at 4:39 pm
Registered user
on Sep 8, 2022 at 4:39 pm
@Mondoman
Certainly China and the US. Less so India.
Primary energy consumption worldwide in 2021, by country
Characteristic Consumption in exajoules
China* 157.65
United States 92.97
India 35.43
Russia 31.3
Japan 17.74
Canada 13.94
...
Source: Web Link
Registered user
Crescent Park
on Sep 8, 2022 at 4:41 pm
Registered user
on Sep 8, 2022 at 4:41 pm
So can I charge my car now?
Registered user
Green Acres
on Sep 8, 2022 at 10:20 pm
Registered user
on Sep 8, 2022 at 10:20 pm
@peppered
I had greenhouse emissions in mind rather than energy use. The difficult issue in the US is how to influence China to start leveling off and then cut its emissions. Perhaps an emissions-based tariff trade "war" is what we need to get their attention, as leading by example doesn't seem to be working.
Registered user
Duveneck/St. Francis
on Sep 9, 2022 at 7:37 am
Registered user
on Sep 9, 2022 at 7:37 am
(1) Reliability of the electrical grid seems to be something for which we can hold the city accountable. And yes, the city should explain how they will handle increased loads as we switch over to electric heating etc.
(2) Re carbon footprints: China's CO2 emissions are now larger than ours in total, but per capita, they are ca. 1/2 of the US: 7.6 tons/year vs. 14.7 tons/year. India's per capita loading is much smaller at 1.8 tons/year (Web Link For comparison to the US number, the UK per capita loading is ca. 1/3 or ours (5.2). Inside the US, there is also a big range, e.g. California at 9 and Wyoming at 111. (Web Link
Registered user
Mountain View
on Sep 9, 2022 at 5:23 pm
Registered user
on Sep 9, 2022 at 5:23 pm
This is just the beginning. As the CA grid "goes green", CA is not installing enough reliable modern natural gas plants as BACKUPS to unreliable solar and wind sources. And, CA is taking hydro plants offline. Makes no power engineering sense whatsoever. But who cares, as long as the Progressives are trying to "save the world", which they can't do. How about saving quality of life in CA?? That CAN be done with proper attention to keep a highly reliable power grid.
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Sep 11, 2022 at 11:47 am
Registered user
on Sep 11, 2022 at 11:47 am
And another one overnight. 4 outages in 7 days now.
Registered user
Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Sep 11, 2022 at 2:10 pm
Registered user
on Sep 11, 2022 at 2:10 pm
Anyone know how widespread today's outage was and how long it lasted? Or anything about the cause? Any updates from CPAU?
When we woke up this morning, we had to restart the computers, reset the refrigerator and microwave... Our neighborhood has underground wiring.
Registered user
Leland Manor/Garland Drive
on Sep 11, 2022 at 3:17 pm
Registered user
on Sep 11, 2022 at 3:17 pm
In Leland Manor the outage was from approximately 4:50 am to 7:10 am.
Registered user
Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Sep 11, 2022 at 3:27 pm
Registered user
on Sep 11, 2022 at 3:27 pm
@Paly grad. Thanks. Do you know if it spread beyond our neighborhood and what the cause was?
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Sep 11, 2022 at 4:15 pm
Registered user
on Sep 11, 2022 at 4:15 pm
Sunday 4.15 pm, still nothing from Utilities!
Our power is unreliable. I suppose that because this happened in the early hours of Sunday morning they thought that since it was restored before breakfast time, we wouldn't notice!
Registered user
Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Sep 11, 2022 at 5:53 pm
Registered user
on Sep 11, 2022 at 5:53 pm
@Bystander, yup. Wondering where the update is. Maybe they should hire Paly Grad.
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Sep 12, 2022 at 1:18 pm
Registered user
on Sep 12, 2022 at 1:18 pm
Monday lunchtime and still nothing from Utilities or PA Weekly. The silence is deafening.