Dear LBNL Colleagues,
Urgent update: In a surprise change of events, PG&E notified us this evening, without warning, that power has been restored to our Grizzly Peak Substation. In addition, PG&E has also notified us that the main hill site is NOT within the area to be affected by tomorrow’s expected Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS). As a result, beginning tonight, we have begun the process of reenergizing the Lab’s main hill site.
Similarly, our offsite locations are not expected to be impacted by a PSPS on Tuesday and Wednesday.
This evening at 7:00 p.m., the Lab’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was fully re-activated, and the team is preparing for a safe restart of operations on the main hill site. Operations staff will work on rotating 12-hour shifts to execute the Lab’s power restoration plans in a safe and orderly manner, in coordination with area leadership. We will keep you updated throughout this process.
Lab Security personnel is now granting access to the main hill site to those individuals who were previously placed on the emergency-essential personnel list. Personnel entering the site should use the Blackberry Gate and present their badges.
Please note that Berkeley Lab’s main hill site remains closed at this time. Although there is still a great deal of uncertainty, it is possible the main site could reopen as early as Wednesday morning. This revises information provided this afternoon.
The Lab’s offsite locations, including JGI in Walnut Creek, remain open at this time, and there is no indication at this time that any of the Lab’s offsite locations will be closed tomorrow. For work locations on the UC Berkeley campus, refer to instructions from https://news.berkeley.edu.
Please 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.
Michael Brandt
Deputy Director, Operations and
Chief Operating Officer