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.
Update 4 p.m. A PG&E spokesman told Berkeleyside that power had been restored at 3:53 p.m. for all customers who were affected by the power outages today. Crews are still investigating the cause.
Update 3:22 p.m. A PG&E spokesman told Berkeleyside that 41,000 customers in Berkeley, Oakland and Emeryville are without power. The company has multiple crews working to restore power. But they haven’t yet determined the cause of the outage, so there is no estimated time for restoration.
Original report: Power outages in large parts of South and West Berkeley hit on Saturday afternoon, from the Claremont Hotel & Resort to Berkeley Bowl West.
Reader Dan Lurie first alerted Berkeleyside with a tweet that power was out at Carleton and San Pablo at 1:41 p.m. More tweets poured in swiftly, including reports of outages near Ashby BART, Alta Bates, College Avenue and parts of North Oakland. Berkeley’s downtown is unaffected, but there are reports of outages around University Avenue and Sacramento Avenue as well.
According to unconfirmed Berkeley Police scanner reports, street lights are out in some areas.
At 2:15 p.m., PG&E’s outage map showed all of South and West Berkeley, North Oakland and Emeryville covered by the outage. In Berkeley, PG&E says there are 15 outages affecting 11,294 customers, and in Oakland 17 outages affecting 32,144 customers.
Berkeley Fire and Police Departments have sent out a notice urging pedestrians and motorists to use caution. “Non-functioning traffic signal should be treated as a four-way stop,” the notice warned. “Motorists should also drive with their headlights on when using their windshield wipers.”
Residents should report any downed power lines or traffic hazards to 911.
PG&E’s outage map estimates restoration of power at 4:30 p.m.
