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PG&E Cut Your Power? 87,000 Californians Are in the Dark — Here's Your Backup Plan

California home running on a portable power station during the PG&E blackout

Right now, as you read this, around 87,000 Californians are sitting in the dark. PG&E started cutting power Wednesday evening across 29 counties — Calaveras, El Dorado, San Luis Obispo, Madera, Tuolumne among the hardest hit — and the shutoff could stretch through today. About 5,500 of those without power are Medical Baseline customers who depend on electricity for their health.

If you're one of them, here's your action plan — first for right now, then so this never happens to you again.

Right now: triage

  • Fridge: keep the doors closed. A full freezer holds temp ~48 hours unopened; a fridge ~4 hours. When in doubt, throw it out.
  • Phones: switch to low-power mode, kill background apps. One charged phone is your lifeline.
  • Medical devices: PG&E has opened 40+ Community Resource Centers across 25 counties with device charging, Wi-Fi, and water. Find yours at pge.com.
  • Generators: never run a gas generator indoors or in a garage — carbon monoxide kills silently. Outside, 20+ feet from the house.

The real fix: your own power

Here's the truth nobody at the utility will tell you: the shutoffs aren't going away. Fire seasons are getting longer, and PSPS events are now a California routine. The households that shrug through blackouts all have one thing in common — a power station.

  • Keep the essentials alive: a 1,024Wh station like the Cube 1000 runs your fridge for hours, charges every phone in the house, powers lights and a laptop — silent, indoor-safe, no fumes.
  • Ride out multi-day outages: a 2,048Wh unit like the OUKITEL P2001 Pro keeps a full-size fridge, CPAP, router, and lights going with room to spare. Add a solar panel and it recharges itself every day.

Every order ships free, from a real US business — no fake countdown timers, no games. Just gear that works when the grid doesn't.

Next time, be the house with the lights on

Check our 5-minute sizing guide to pick the right station the first time. And if the power's out right now — stay safe, check on your neighbors, and we'll keep the lights on for you next time.

Sources: PG&E PSPS updates Oct 14–17, 2026; KION Central Coast. Numbers change as the event evolves — check pge.com for your address.