Nearly 6,900 PG&E customers in Los Osos were left in the dark Monday night due to a power outage.
“I looked out the whole window, and it was dark. We started to find candles and flashlights and decided to go to bed early,” said Mary Cicchillo, Los Osos resident.
Mary Cicchillo says she was without power for 2 1/2 hours Monday night.
“We did not open the fridge deliberately,” Cicchillo said.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, to keep your food safe during a power outage: keep your refrigerator and freezer doors closed, buy dry ice or a block of ice to keep the refrigerator as cold as possible, and if perishable food has been left out for more than 2 hours at room temperature, throw it away.
“Our fridge makes a good amount of ice, so I think we had, if needed, it would’ve been okay. It’s almost like a block in there,” Cicchillo said.
The FDA says the refrigerator will keep food cold for four hours if unopened. A full freezer will keep food cold for 48 hours if unopened. A half-full freezer will keep food cold for 24 hours.
“Using the refrigerator, you don’t open the door unnecessarily, even the freezer. I went to the freezer in the garage to get some ice instead of trying to get some from the refrigerator,” said Jim Dickey, Los Osos resident.
PG&E offers a storm inconvenience bill credit to customers affected by power outages lasting more than 48 hours, which is automatically applied to customers’ bills.
The credit amounts are issued in increments of $25, with a maximum of $100.
For example, outages lasting
- 48 to 72 hours: $25
- 72 to 96 hours: $50
- 96 to 120 hours: $75
- 120 hours or more: $100
PG&E says that because the power outage lasted less than two hours in Los Osos, customers will not be credited.
“I encourage people to be prepared for anything, whether it’s earthquakes or power outages, or whatnot. Everybody, just be prepared with at least a 3-day supply of water and food and an emergency plan. That kind of thing,” said Dickey.
PG&E says an outage on a circuit protected by Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings caused the power outage.
