Will Foster City Lose Power During The Solar Eclipse?

Electrical customers in the Bay Area should be more or less unaffected by a drop in solar power generated during Monday's solar eclipse because PG&E has measures in place to ensure uninterrupted service, utility officials said Thursday.

"We anticipate that no one will lose service," PG&E spokesman Matt Nauman said during a news conference Thursday morning at the utility's distribution control center in Concord.

Meteorologists are expecting a potential drop-off of 2,600 megawatts of solar energy, nearly 20 percent of the 13,500 megawatts they anticipate customers to be using during that timeframe.

On a typical summer day, roughly one-third of the power generated in PG&E's service area comes from renewable energy sources like solar.

"We had a wet winter, so we have plenty of hydro we can use," Nauman said. "We're not expecting any outages."

Utility officials are expecting a 75 percent reduction in energy from rooftop solar sources, but there will be other sources available and most customers shouldn't see any significant impacts or increased costs, according to PG&E.

PG&E meteorologist Scott Strenfel said the Bay Area may experience partial cloud cover Monday morning, especially along the coast. The eclipse will likely be more visible in the East Bay.

Strenfel also advised viewers to "never look directly at" the eclipse.

The solar eclipse will begin locally at 9:02 a.m. Monday, peak at about 10:15 a.m., and end at 11:54 a.m., according to PG&E.

SEE ALSO:

Sorry, California: Aug. 21, 2017, Total Solar Eclipse Will Only Be Partial In Golden State

— By Bay City News Service / Image via Shutterstock