Winery Prepares For Possible Power Shutoff Days After The Last Round

AMADOR COUNTY (CBS13) — Pacific Gas and Electric is expecting another round of shutoffs later this week ahead of dry and windy conditions.

A spokesperson said this shutoff is much smaller in scale, but it will still affect more than 200,000 customers across 16 counties. Officials said they will make the decision to shut off power Wednesday morning because shutoffs would need to start around 2 p.m.

Employees at Wilderotter Winery in Plymouth remember last time the power was off for safety reasons, just days ago.

"I think it was out for four days almost, kind of was a little bit crazy," said Megan Lucas.

The shutoffs were tough on business.

READ: Severe Winds May Bring More PG&E Power Shutoffs In 16 Counties This Week

"We had to turn people away, we had no restrooms, we had no refrigeration," said Jamie Hendricks, a Wilderotter employee.

Lucas said one of her coworkers and his family struggled to find a generator for their home.

"They finally did find one but it was after like five or six hours of driving around," she said.

Employees at Wilderotter not only deal with trouble at work during shutoffs but trouble at home too. Hendricks has three kids, the youngest just two years old. Power shutoffs cost her family a lot of money within just a few days.

"You're paying for daycare that you can't use because everything's shut down. No school or daycare. And unfortunately, because the winery was closed I can't work," Hendricks said.

Hendricks said there's no just getting by any more during these shutoffs. She thinks her employer will bite the bullet and buy a generator for the tasting room.

"In order to save money, not upset our customers and our patrons, and to be able to serve the public we have to invest in that, I'm going to assume," she said.

PG&E said they are preparing for a higher volume of traffic on their website and have designated a single point of contact for each county.