Planned Outages for
Maintenance & System
Improvements
To ensure safe and reliable electric service, our utility personnel perform proactive repairs and system enhancements throughout the year. Sometimes, this requires the scheduling of planned outages to complete the work safely.
We understand outages are inconvenient, and our crews will work quickly to minimize disruptions. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
We’ll notify you of upcoming planned outages via email, text message, or mailed letter. Please keep your contact information up to date. You can sign up for notifications and update your preferences in the My Energy Center.
Have more questions about the planned outage in your area? Please call us at 1-800-411-7343 to get more information.
Planned Outage Notifications: What to Expect
If a planned maintenance-related power outage is needed in your area, you will get the following notifications:
An email, text message and/or mailed letter in advance with details including outage date(s), reason, and estimated restoration time(s).
An automated phone call informing you of the outage. The message will direct you to this webpage and provide a phone number if you have questions.
An automated phone call, email, and/or text message the day before the planned outage occurs to make sure you are prepared.*
*Scheduled outages can begin as soon as 12 a.m. the next day, so make sure you review your email and/or mailed letter to ensure you know all the details.
Track your planned outage: Visit our outage map and click on the blue planned outage tab to see a detailed summary of planned outages in our service area. Your planned outage details will be available on this page up to three days before it is scheduled.
Rescheduled or canceled outages: Unsafe weather conditions, unexpected events or other factors may require us to reschedule or cancel planned maintenance outages for safety. If the planned outage is rescheduled, you will receive an email, text message and/or phone call from us as soon as possible.
Didn’t get a notification? Log into My Energy Center to make sure your contact information is up to date and your notification preferences are on to get outage information. If your area will be affected by a planned outage, an orange banner will also be displayed across the top of your screen in My Energy Center with outage details.
Do you or does someone in your home have a disability, use an electronic medical device for health, safety and/or independence or prefer to receive information in a language other than English? Complete this form so we can better serve you.
Have more questions about the planned outage in your area? Please call us at 1-800-411-7343 to get more information.
Prepare for a Planned Outage
Have medical needs that require electricity?
Some people depend on uninterrupted power to operate medical equipment in their homes. Since we cannot guarantee uninterrupted service you should always have a backup plan. This could mean a backup power system or other arrangements.
- Medical backup plan: For those who rely on uninterrupted power for medical equipment, it’s crucial to have a backup plan. This might include a backup power system or other arrangements, as we cannot guarantee continuous service.
- Equipment backup: If your medical equipment is supplied by a hospital or a durable medical equipment company, work with them to develop an emergency or backup plan. Some companies may supply additional medical equipment and other services during emergency situations.
- Refrigerated medications: If you take medications that require refrigeration, take precautions and have a plan in place to continue storing at the appropriate temperature.
- Get on “disabled or other access and functional needs" lists: Contact your local fire department to learn whether they maintain a list of people with medical needs. Being on his list may help them better respond to you during emergencies. If you use an electronic medical device for health, safety and/or independence or prefer to receive information in a language other than English? Complete this form so we can better serve you.
- Emergency contacts: Keep emergency phone numbers handy.
- Backup plan: Develop plans to leave your home in the event of a lengthy power outage. Share this plan with family, friends, and others that should be aware.
- Medical baseline: Please visit Medical Baseline Qualifications for more information.
- Keep important phone numbers (e.g., hospital, fire department, police, friends and relatives) in a convenient location in case you need emergency or other assistance.
- Keep a cell phone or hardwired, single line telephone on hand. Cordless phones do not work without electricity.
- Keep a flashlight with extra, fresh batteries in a convenient place. Avoid using wax candles because of the risk of fire. If you must use candles, please use extreme caution or consider using flameless LED candles.
- Be prepared to feed and water pets, service animals, or livestock in case well pumps don’t have power.
- Keep a battery-operated radio and clock along with extra batteries.
- Have a First aid kit handy.
- Keep ready to eat foods, manual can opener and bottled water.
- Turn off heat producing appliances (e.g., ovens, stove tops and irons) prior to the outage. This will eliminate a fire hazard when power comes back on.
- If you see a downed power line, do not touch it. Call 911 immediately.
- Make sure you can manually (without power) open your automatic garage door or gate or park your vehicle outside.
- Notify your alarm company if you have an alarm system as equipment can be affected by power outages.
- Inform SDG&E if you have a generator that you will use during the outage. Do not use it unless you are sure it was installed safely and correctly by a licensed electrician. An incorrectly installed generator can damage your property and endanger you and SDG&E's line workers who may be working on nearby power lines. Please visit Generator Safety for more information.
- Make sure to turn off electric ranges or space heaters to prevent the possibility of a fire if you’re away when power is restored.
- If it’s a hot day, find relief from the heat at a nearby Cool Zone.
- Please visit our preparedness Emergency Checklists.
To safeguard your equipment and appliances and ease the initial load when power is turned off and restored, turn off or unplug all sensitive equipment.
- Unplug your sensitive equipment such as:
- Microwaves
- Computers and laptops
- DVRs and DVD players
- Televisions and gaming systems
- Any equipment with sensitive electronics
- Install sensors or surge protectors to protect your appliances and equipment from surges when the power is restored.
- Turn off any major appliances that use electrical motors such as washers, freezers or air conditioners to prevent them from unexpectedly coming on when the power is restored.
- Leave one light on so you’ll know when the power is back on.
- Protect appliances from power outages using an uninterruptible power supply (UPS).
- Double-check to make sure all heat producing appliances like stoves, toaster ovens, irons and hair curlers, are turned off to minimize any fire hazard if the power is restored while you’re away.
- View our Unplanned power outages brochure.
- Keep a backup charger or battery pack handy. Prepare for an outage by ensuring your laptops, cellphones, tablets and rechargeable battery packs are fully charged before power goes out.
- If you have a single line wired telephone on hand, it can be used for emergencies. A plain, hard-wired phone may operate on power delivered through the phone line. Cordless phones do not work without electricity.
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Purchase a power back-up for your cellphone. If you use a generator, place it outdoors and plug individual appliances directly into it, using a heavy-duty extension cord. Connecting generators directly to household circuits creates “backfeed,” which is dangerous to repair crews. Please consult your manufacturer’s manual and a licensed electrician. Please visit Generator Safety for more information..
- Use your phone as a hotspot if internet is required for devices. Be sure to check with your provider on your data allotment and turn off your hotspot as soon as you are finished to avoid incurring extra charges.
- Secure a temporary alternate location with Wi-Fi such as a family or friends' home or a local facility.
- Unless installed by a licensed electrician, standby or portable generators should NOT be connected to your electric service panel or any electrical outlet. Failure to install a standby generator safely and properly could endanger you, our employees, or the public.
- Never try to back-feed your house by plugging a generator into a wall outlet or temporarily wiring into the electrical panel.
- Notify your energy company to inform them if you’ve installed a backup system.
- Turn off the generator for at least 5 mins before fueling to avoid fires.
- Read the manufacturer instructions and be sure to follow them before using your generator.
- Ensure the electrical load never exceeds the manufacturer’s rating.
- Never use a generator inside your home, garage or other enclosed building. Good ventilation is required because of the carbon monoxide that generators produce.
- Contact SDGE by calling 1-800-411-SDGE to inform us that you have a generator that you will use during the outage. Please also visit Generator Safety for more information
Perishable foods in your refrigerator and freezer may or may not be safe to consume after an electric outage. It depends on things like the length of the outage and outdoor temperatures. You can take steps to keep your food fresh longer. There are also things you can do to make sure your food is still safe to eat once the fridge is running again.
- Keep it closed: Open refrigerator and freezer doors only when necessary. Depending on the outside temperature an unopened refrigerator can keep foods cold enough for several hours. Placing blocks of ice inside will help keep food cold longer. Check food carefully for signs of spoilage.
- A closed refrigerator can keep food cold for up to 24 hours
- A freezer can keep food frozen for up to 48 hours.
- A refrigerator or freezer that are full of food will maintain temperature longer than ones that are half full or empty, provided the doors remain closed.
- Draw the line at 40 degrees: Perishable foods should not be held above 40 degrees Fahrenheit for more than two hours.
- Coolers & ice chests: For outages longer than two hours, food items such as dairy products, meats, fish, poultry, eggs and leftovers should be packed into a cooler with ice. A separate cooler can be packed with frozen items.
- Cans & dry goods: Canned food, dry goods, and powdered or boxed milk can be consumed at room temperature or heated on a grill. Keep on hand non-perishable food that doesn't require cooking and make sure you have a manual can opener.
- Dry ice: Dry ice can be used to help protect the items in your refrigerator and freezer during extremely long outages.
- Use gloves when handling dry ice, and don't place it in direct contact with food or drinks.
- Leave a light on: When you go to bed, leave a bedroom light switched on. It will wake you when power returns, so you can check the condition of your food.
- If you’re not home: If a power outage happens while you're out of the house, try to determine how long it has been out. Check the internal temperature of perishables in your refrigerator with a quick-response thermometer; any item above 40 degrees should be thrown out. If power comes back on in less than 24 hours and your freezer is fairly full, your frozen items should be safe. If the refrigerator was out for more than 24 hours, you should get rid of perishables.
What happens when a power outage occurs? If you can’t operate your gate or garage, it becomes a barrier and a hindrance. The last thing you want is to be locked out of or stuck inside your property during a planned outage. Ensure that you have a plan in place to exit and access your home safely. It is recommended that you remove your vehicle before the outage. Once power is back on, check to make sure your garage door and/or gate is working properly. Know how to override or manually operate your security gates or garage doors.
Electric Garage Door - As a standard for garage doors, generally there is a mechanism hanging from the trolley of your garage door. Depending on the age of your home, your garage could be different. Refer to your product’s manufacturer for specific instructions for your garage.
Automated Gate - The manual release mechanism is slightly different for every automatic gate system, so it’s a good idea to have your user manual on hand. Refer to your product’s manufacturer for specific instructions for your gate.
Opening Sliding Gates - If you need to manually override a slide gate opener, you will need to locate either a wrench-key release or an electronic release button to cut off the power. Refer to your product’s manufacturer for specific instructions for your gate.
Opening Swing Gates - On a swing gate, the motor controls an arm mechanism that attaches to and moves the gate itself. Refer to your product’s manufacturer for specific instructions on opening your gate.
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Establish a “power outage response team” to initiate response protocols established by your business resiliency plan in the event of an outage.
- Create a hardcopy list of emergency phone numbers — police, fire, hospital, and emergency management, and post for your employees.
- Develop internal and external communications protocols to keep staff informed.
- Make sure employees are aware and trained on safety response protocols, include such items as:
- Procedures for disconnecting and powering down equipment
- Procedures for entering and exiting the facility
- Procedures for elevator safety and what to do during and after an outage occurs
- Test your back-up battery systems (Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS), emergency lighting, phone, security, fire protection, etc.) each year
- Contact the service providers for your telephone service, security and alarm systems, air conditioning and fire-protection systems for information or specific instruction on how these systems will operate during, and after, an electrical outage.
- Notify SDGE of your plans to run a generator by calling 1-800-411-SDGE (7343)
- Requirements for data backup and retrieval
- Work-from-home requirements
- An emergency plan for employees who rely on medical equipment — this may include instructions on a backup power supply or transportation to another facility.
- Discuss basic first aid and CPR training, evacuation routes, and communication protocols.
- Ensure emergency lighting, signage, and exit signs are operable and clearly visible.
- Install carbon monoxide detectors with battery backup in central locations throughout your business to ensure they continue to function and alert you of toxic emissions.
- Review building security and safety systems, and establish mitigation solutions. Ensure you have complimentary plans for communicating shipping and receiving delays, back-up generator requirements, and banking support.
Watch the video below to learn more about planned power outages, what to expect, and how to prepare.
For more information about outages, visit our outage center.
After a Power Outage
Wait a few minutes before turning on electronics. This will help eliminate problems that could occur if there’s a surge in demand immediately after power is restored.
- Reset clocks, automatic timers, alarms, thermostats, and other programmed equipment.
- Thoroughly check refrigerated foods for signs of spoilage to make sure they are safe to eat. Use a thermometer in the refrigerator and freezer so you can know the temperature when the power is restored.
- Check on neighbors and friends in the area.
- If you see a downed power line, stay away and do not touch it. Call 911 and call us immediately to report it at 1-800-411-7343.
For more information about outages and how to prepare, please visit our Outage Center.