PG&E work triggers power outage for thousands in Aptos region
APTOS — Thousands of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers in portions of Mid and South Santa Cruz County were hit with an unexpected power outage Tuesday morning that was accompanied by a restoration effort that was mobilized shortly after the lights went dark.
Stephanie Magallon, a spokesperson for the utility provider, said in an emailed statement that the initial outage occurred just before 9 a.m. and impacted 19,000 customers in the region. According to PG&E’s outage map shortly after the power was cut, the heart of the outage was in Soquel and Aptos, but it extended west to the edge of Capitola and as far east as Corralitos and the broader Freedom region.
“Shortly before 9 a.m. today, we began switching customers from one circuit to another to allow our crews to safely perform scheduled work,” Magallon wrote. “During the process, we encountered an issue that triggered an outage affecting approximately 19,000 customers in Santa Cruz County.”
The workers were able to restore service to about 2,000 customers within the first hour, Magallon added. As of about 10 a.m. 14,000 customers were still without power, but by 11 a.m. power for all customers had been restored, according to Magallon.
One of the customers impacted by the outage was AJ’s Market in Soquel. Around 9:40 a.m., the store was accepting cash-only payments while the power was out and manager Isaac Javed said most of the store’s offerings were offline.
“Obviously a lot less people are going to come in,” said Isaac Javed. “You’re not going to sell any fuel, you’re not going to sell any car washes, no restaurant. So most of the business actually can’t operate.”
Ellianna Javed, who owns AJ’s market alongside her husband, said the family was pivoting to try to preserve some of the items that required freezing and refrigeration. She also worried that some of the computers would glitch and require attention once they were rebooted after the power had been turned back on.
“It’s a pain,” she admitted.
A couple minutes further west on Soquel Drive, The Farm Bakery Cafe and Gifts had a sign posted outside its front door explaining that the cafe had temporarily closed due to the outage.
Later Tuesday morning around 10:40 a.m., the power appeared to have been restored at both store locations.
Magallon added that crews continued to work “as quickly and safely as possible to restore service to all affected customers.”
Cabrillo College spokesperson Kristin Fabos told the Sentinel that the school’s entire Aptos campus was also impacted by the Tuesday morning outage, but power had been restored by about 10:44 a.m. Thankfully, Fabos added, fall classes do not begin until Aug. 25, so the only necessary adjustments for the school was for managers to have Aptos-based employees work from home if possible; and a housing authority scholarship ceremony planned for the Samper Recital Hall Tuesday morning was relocated to an outdoor venue.
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