SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — More than 7,400 SDG&E customers have been left in the dark Thursday night as part of the utility’s public safety power shutoff.
On Friday, an additional 33,000 customers could also be affected.
Thursday’s power shutoff hit several businesses hard, like Oak Springs Market – which is located about 60 miles east of San Diego off Interstate-8.
“I am mad about it. Really mad because this is ridiculous, same exact time as last year. We just did this a few weeks ago,” said Tammi Hall, who lives in Live Oaks Springs and works at the market.
Tammi was also one of the 395 customers who had power turned off during high winds in East County two weeks ago.
“Everybody up here is poor, and they do not have back up plans. They go without and everything they had in their fridge is ruined,” said Hall.
Store owner, Sam Matthe, said he lost thousands of dollars’ worth of food.
“$30,000, again. I have a freezer of ice-cream, produce, milk, dairy cooler, frozen food,” he said.
As winds are expected to pick up over night into Friday, SDG&E said nearly 34,000 customers could lose power on Friday.
“We understand these power outages are disruptive to people’s lives, but at the same time, we are doing what we can to protect public safety overall,” said Wes Jones, SDG&E spokesperson.
Locals and store owners, meanwhile, are trying to make do but are frustrated.
“They think they are doing everyone a favor. They are not,” said Tammi.
Depending on weather conditions, SDG&E plans to restore power in East County by Saturday at 6 p.m.
Everyone is encouraged to sign up to receive alerts from SDG&E at sdge.com/notifications so they can stay up to date on potential Public Safety Power Shutoffs.