Following complaints by Calistoga officials of noise and the smell of diesel fuel from PG&E generators, the utility told the city late Tuesday afternoon that crews will be running generators for fewer hours from Wednesday through Friday for critical infrastructure work.
Generators will run from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Calistoga state Highway 29 substation.
The generators will provide power for Calistoga as PG&E crews periodically de-energize transmission feeders to perform upgrades between Calistoga and PG&E's Fulton substation to better protect people from wildfires.
The generators will not be on Saturday or Sunday.
City officials on Monday took issue with PG&E over the noise and diesel fuel smells from the utility's generators during transmission line work.
In a community advisory on Nixle late Monday night, the city said PG&E installed 14 large generators to power Calistoga and parts of St. Helena and Sonoma County 24 hours a day until Saturday.
The city claims there was a lack of coordination and communication by PG&E.
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"How this situation occurred is nacceptable," city officials said in a statement.
PG&E spokeswoman Deanna Contreras said, "We apologize for not contacting customers sooner."
Now, city officials said they understand PG&E workers will be contacting residents and businesses adjacent to the Highway 29 substation.
Contreras said work will continue throughout the month of May but not necessarily every day. Work may occur on some weekends, she said.
More information can be obtained by calling (415) 257-3401 or by emailing PG&E at wildfiresafety@pge.com or by clicking here.
