PG&E unveils grid control system in Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Winter storms can knock down trees and cut power to thousands of customers. But this year, PG&E crews have a new tool to help them get the lights back on.

"We're going to be able to respond to outages much more quickly because of this new technology," said PG&E Spokesperson Jeff Smith. "We're able to pinpoint exactly where it's taken place. Where previously our customers actually had to call us and once we saw a cluster of customers calling us from a certain location, we would know where that would be where we would need to respond."

PG&E officials are excited about the new centralized hub for the Valley. The state of the art building will monitor power for 1.5 million homes and businesses from Bakersfield to Stockton, all in a Fresno building. Officials say the technology has gone a long way.

"This actually takes the place of the wall maps and the old legacy centers," said PG&E Control Center Supervisor Gerald Jay. "So this is all electronic, it's a lot more user friendly they can drill down, they can move around. There's a lot of features in this. The different colors are the circuits."

The system will allow employees to see where the issues are and send crews right away. It will also help anticipate problems that can be caused by natural disasters like fires, storms and earthquakes.

The Fresno facility is the first of three centers for PG&E. Next year Concord and Rocklin will come online. All three systems will support each other, especially in the case of an emergency.