PGE workers have been working 24 hours a day to restore power supplies in various parts of the state.
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STATE OF OREGON – Gov. Kate Brown declared a state of emergency in Oregon due to winter storms that left thousands of people without power.
Power company Portland General Electric (PGE) said they have about 280,000 customers in the state who have reported a blackout.
Cristian Salgado, from PGE, explained that the blackouts are due to the precipitation of the different storms accumulated in trees and wiring, which has caused the electricity cables to fall to the ground.
“The series of historical storms has seriously impacted the community and the thing is that there were three stages, one of snow, ice and wind and every time a storm comes it accumulates on top of the branches and ice and that causes them to fall. branches and cables ”.
Salgado assured that they have been working 24 hours a day to restore service, but they have to do it in a safe way for their workers.
The process of restoring service is like a puzzle and is not just about fixing the icy power lines, but also having to take into account other components that help them work.
“At the moment we are seeing 200 miles of transmission lines that need repair, there are 7 distribution centers that we call substations that are affected, more than 100 electrical feeders and more than 4,400 cables are down,” said Salgado.
For some affected by the blackouts, such as Cesar Castañeda Salgado, a father who lives in Salem, who had been without power since Friday, the situation was overwhelming, especially with two young children at home.
“It’s maddening you know, suddenly the moment comes when as a parent you despair that you feel so cold and you look at your children and say ‘well, when is this going to end, when the light is going to return’, you start to despair a little ”, exclaimed Castañeda Salgado.
He turned to other alternatives to feed his family. With the low temperatures, they were storing food in a refrigerator outside their house and cooking on a charcoal grill.
“I’m going to look for coal because right now it’s very difficult to find those little gas stoves, right now you go to a store and you can’t find anything anymore.”
Fortunately, by noon on Monday, the power supply had already been restored to his home.
In his area approximately 8,000 other customers had also been without service.
“There are three stages of energy, then you fix one area and another is affected, so we don’t want to give or we can’t give that calculation of how long it will last.”
Salgado said they have had to get help from other states. About 700 workers from California, Nevada, Montana and Washington are coming to Oregon to help with the restoration, but still, they say it will take a few days and ask for patience.
If you are impacted by a power outage, PGE asks that you call 503-464-7777 or 800-544-1795.
For warming centers in your area, visit 211info.org/em-shelters or call 211.
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