Dear LBNL Colleagues,
At this time, power remains off at Berkeley Lab’s main hill site and PG&E estimates that power might be restored sometime Monday. As a result, Berkeley Lab’s main hill site will remain closed on Monday, October 28; please discuss remote work options with your supervisor. We will advise you on whether you should report to work Tuesday when that decision is made.
JGI expects to be open Monday morning; JGI personnel should look for communications from JGI management for details. Personnel working at all Berkeley Lab locations other than the main hill site should report to work as usual on Monday. For work locations on the UC Berkeley campus, refer to instructions from https://news.berkeley.edu.
As we announced last evening, PG&E shut off power at the Lab’s main hill site at 10:01 p.m., Oct. 26, as part of their public safety power shutdown (PSPS). JGI in Walnut Creek continues to have power.
Sustained high winds are expected for at least the next 24 hours. PG&E has announced that its teams will need to inspect power lines and repair damaged equipment before restoring power. Once power is restored, the Lab’s main hill site will remain closed until Lab teams have safely restarted its facilities and operations, which will require a minimum of 24 hours.
Currently, the Lab’s main hill site is in a safe and stable condition. This morning, we are reducing the level of staffing in the EOC to rest emergency personnel in preparation for restart procedures. When PG&E restores power to this location, operations staff will work as quickly as possible to execute the Lab’s power restoration plans in a safe and orderly manner. We will keep you updated throughout this process.
You can stay informed by checking for updates on status.lbl.gov, at 1-800-445-5830, and on a new Twitter account for Lab staff, users, and others: @LBNLstatus.
If you are in an area that has been affected by a PSPS, please stay safe, and reach out to others who may need your assistance.
Michael Brandt
Deputy Director, Operations and
Chief Operating Officer