SANTA CRUZ — Many local businesses have reported losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in Pacific Gas & Electric Co.’s public safety power shutoffs in October, according to a survey conducted by the Santa Cruz County Business Council.

The Business Council released a survey from Nov. 12 to Dec. 9 for business owners to explain the economic impacts of the shutoffs, and also asked if the businesses felt prepared and received effective communication from PG&E. Robert Singleton, executive director of the Business Council, said 74 businesses across the county responded to the survey. The largest industries that participated in the survey were restaurants, hospitality and professional services, such as accounting and legal offices. Three of these businesses included Gayle’s Bakery & Rosticceria, Cruzio Internet and 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall.

Survey findings

Singleton said 54 business reported losing money indirectly, by paying staff overtime and for the loss of operation hours, as well as through direct loss from equipment failures and ruined inventory. On average, businesses reported losing about $32,900, he said.

While many of these businesses lost money, 68% or 50 businesses said they were somewhat or very prepared for the power outages, according to Singleton. A common theme between businesses was the inaccuracy of the PG&E outage map, he said.

The Business Council expects to send out a notice of survey highlights next week.

Gayle’s Bakery

Gayle’s Bakery was closed Oct. 10, 11, 27 and 28. Owner Gayle Ortiz said they weren’t selling any products for five days. Gayle’s makes all of its own products it sells.

“We can’t start making things if we’re going to be closed tomorrow,” Ortiz said.

Gayle’s lost thousands of dollars:

• $16,000 to pay employees for coming in to redistribute and get rid of spoiled food, for the transportation costs for redistribution, calling staff telling them not to come into work and other tasks while it wasn’t operating.

• $20,000 in prepared food, such as salads and pasta dishes.

• $50,000 in raw materials, such as meat and dairy products.

• 90% lower net earnings compared to October 2018.

“We basically made no money for that month,” Ortiz said.

Gayle’s has not and will not receive any reimbursement from insurance because the shutoffs were considered a man-made problem, Ortiz said. The bakery, at 504 Bay Ave. in Capitola, has nearly 200 employees, who lost an estimated $16,000 in wages, she said.

While Ortiz received alerts from PG&E about power shutoffs, via text, email and phone calls, she received mixed messages of when and if the business would lose power. She was also notified by the Capitola Police Department, whose estimations were more accurate than PG&E itself, she said.

“We rely on being able to be open,” Ortiz said.

Ortiz plans to spend $112,000 to buy and install a generator for the main bakery, she said. To rent a generator for Gayle’s other building, it costs $1,000 for each use, she said. She is also considering partnering with the city of Capitola and PG&E to install a microgrid, a small network of electricity that connects to a larger power grid, such as PG&E.

Cruzio

James Hackett, director of business operations and development at internet service provider Cruzio Internet, said the company was not closed during normal operating hours. Cruzio lost power from 24-36 hours, but had a generator to keep the network and customers’ internet connection running. The company provides internet service for about 7,000 customers, according to Hackett.

“People tend to get upset when the internet goes down, even when the power goes down,” Hackett said.

Cruzio has remote sites across the county, which also lost power, but field crews kept the sites operating by maintaining battery and generator power, Hackett said. The Cruzio building downtown Santa Cruz, at 877 Cedar St., is on a separate PG&E grid from the PG&E main circuit, he said.

While the shutoffs didn’t affect the company’s revenue, it did add to the cost of equipment. Cruzio lost from $10,000 to $15,000 in paying staff overtime and replacing equipment, Hackett said, adding that he doesn’t expect the company will be reimbursed.

Cruzio was prepared for the outage because employees test its generator in downtown Santa Cruz weekly, according to Hackett. The company has spent about $20,000 on new equipment and plans to spend more than $150,000 on battery and generator back-ups by the end of the year, he said. “It’s worth it for us because we’re dependent on the power,” he said.

Hackett said it was difficult to plan for the shutoffs because Cruzio wasn’t directly contacted by PG&E, but instead had to piece together the outage map, text alerts and news from social media.

99 Bottles

Mia Bossie, owner of restaurant and pub 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall, said her business lost power from 8 p.m Oct. 26 through the night of Oct. 28. She said 99 Bottles couldn’t serve food until the evening of Oct. 29.

The restaurant, at 110 Walnut Ave. in Santa Cruz, lost about $1,500 in refrigerated food and three and a half days of business, Bossie said. No beer was lost because it is all sealed in kegs or bottles, she said. Even though 99 Bottles was closed, she was paying her employees to work about $500 in overtime, she said. Bossie believes she lost more business because it was the weekend before Halloween, which drew more people downtown. She said she was frustrated that businesses on her side of Walnut Avenue and Pacific Avenue were shut off, but the other sides of the streets had power.

“Everything was maybe,” Bossie said of the PG&E notifications, adding that it wasn’t clear if the restaurant would lose power and she didn’t want to shut down preemptively. She said the restaurant received emails and voicemails, but messages said different things, making the shutoff hard to plan for.

Insurance doesn’t cover the financial losses that came from the shutoff, Bossie said.