Sparks from utility wires have caused 1,500 fires in California. Tilden Park has many feet of aging high-voltage PG&E electrical lines and transformers, which are still above ground. They are a hazard.
In November, most residents were switched over to the new East Bay Community Energy provider.
The City Council has allocated $200,000 to move toward the expensive task of undergrounding power lines — which experts say can prevent fires and help with evacuation.
Many fires are caused by downed power lines, but while some say a new PG&E shutoff policy makes sense, others believe cutting power during an emergency puts people at greater risk.
Natural gas pollutes more than electricity per dollar, yet PG&E only allows cities to tax them the same. As an incentive to switch to electricity, customers should pay more for gas
Eleven cities participating in East Bay Community Energy will switch over commercial accounts in June, and residential in November.
PG&E officials say gas service should be repaired "later this evening," but could not provide a specific time.
A power outage affecting nearly 2,000 in North Berkeley could take at least three hours to resolve.
Residents in Berkeley have begun reporting a power outage that began at about 6 p.m.
A power outage that started around 7:30 p.m. and affected a large swath of Berkeley appears to be over, says PG&E.
A mechanical engineer who ran a battery of tests in a South Berkeley apartment found no apparent cause for the carbon monoxide poisoning that killed a couple and their cats.
The apartment where a young Berkeley couple and their cats were found dead in January has been "red tagged" by city staff, and the building owner has been directed to have the unit inspected by a licensed contractor before anyone can live there again.
Update 4:28 p.m. Despite what PG&E has told Berkeleyside, readers are saying their power is still out. According to the outage map, there are 18 outages still reported in Berkeley that are impacting 8,160 customers.
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