To prevent another wildfire, California’s biggest power company, Pacific Gas & Electric, shut off electricity in dozens of counties. Around 1.8 million users across Northern California have been and will be affected by the outage, which began on midnight, Oct. 8. PG&E officials say the outage will last up to five days. As a result, there could be millions of dollars in damages to the state’s cannabis operations, reported Merry Jane.
This because among the affected users are thousands of newly licensed adult-use and medical cannabis farms, distributors, and manufacturers. Without power, many indoor grows may fail, and the region’s million-plus-pound outdoor fall harvest is expected to see increased spoilage.
PG&E’s decision to shut off power to 34 of California’s 58 counties came after news reports predicted heavy winds this week. Diablo winds sweeping across arid Northern California "historically are the events that cause the most destructive wildfires in California history," said PG&E meteorologist Scott Strenfel to CNN.
"We took this step to ensure safety as a last resort, and we are committed to reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire events" Sumeet Singh, vice president of PG&E's Community Wildfire Safety Program, said Wednesday.
The PG&E power outage is occurring during the month of October, when the bulk of this year’s multi-billion dollar outdoor cannabis crop comes in from the field for processing and drying. The state grow an estimated 13.5 million pounds of cannabis per year, 60% of it outdoors. The legal industry is worth $12 billion, and most farm licenses are for outdoor cultivation.
Weed grows aren’t the only portion of the industry that’ll be hit hard by the shut-off. Extraction facilities that separate cannabis oils from plant material — for dabs and infusions — require massive amounts of electricity, too. Some luxury-level dabs such as live resins are made by flash-freezing the plant material as soon as it’s cut down, and if the freezers go bust, all frozen products will be compromised if not totally ruined.