Last weekend, 29,000 PG&E customers were in the dark, and not because of the recent storms – the outages were mostly due to the ongoing historic drought devastating California.
Listen to the latest episode of "Bay Current" below.
KCBS Radio's Jeffrey Schaub reported the outages were caused by power lines and the interaction between a light drizzle and the remnants of smoke and dust from the wildfire season.
"After a long summer, where you have smoke and dirt and dust, the transformers can conduct electricity," Schaub told "Bay Current" on Friday. "When you get a light drizzle, it turns this stuff into mud. That’s what creates the electricity."
PG&E routinely power washes the transformers, but haven't been able to reach every line, especially in cities like Richmond and El Cerrito.
"The outages are a product of the crud, and they need to upgrade their equipment. Richmond is very upset about this," Schaub added. Weather experts forecast up to 10 inches of rain this weekend, with the heaviest rain expected in the North Bay.
PG&E is also expecting more power outages in the upcoming weeks.
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