When will the power be back in El Cerrito, CA?
| Utility information | Our restoration forecast |
|---|---|
| Official ETA, when the utility posts one | Independent estimated return window when trend data allows — often available first |
| Utility-reported status & customer counts | Confidence range + whether the outage is growing, stable, or restoring |
How the forecast works: we analyze how quickly customers are being restored, whether the outage is still growing, current weather, outage size, and similar past outages in this area. Every completed forecast is compared with when power actually returned. As of Sep 3, 11,215 completed outages have been graded this way — typical (median) error 1.7 hours across the most recent 600 of them (about 2.8 days), and we publish the misses. See the full record (how it works). Independent and unofficial: never the utility's commitment.
Track current power outages in El Cerrito, California — customers reported out, restoration progress, active weather alerts, and an independent restoration estimate. El Cerrito is a city in Contra Costa County; when the serving utility's own outage map reports El Cerrito directly, this page shows the city's own outage count and restoration time, with the county-wide view as context.
El Cerrito is a city of about 26,409 residents in Contra Costa County.
None of the utility outage maps we follow has yet listed an outage for El Cerrito by name, so this page reports the Contra Costa County county-wide view, which covers El Cerrito. If a serving utility does name El Cerrito during an outage, the city's own numbers appear here automatically.
ZIP codes in El Cerrito: 94530 Checking a ZIP goes straight to the address-level view for that area.
Around El Cerrito: the closest other places we track are Albany, about 3 miles to the southwest; Berkeley, about 4 miles to the south; San Pablo, about 4 miles to the northwest; Richmond, about 4 miles to the northwest. Also nearby: Emeryville (6 mi S), Pinole (6 mi N), Orinda (7 mi E), Piedmont (8 mi SE), Hercules (8 mi N), Lafayette (10 mi E), Moraga (11 mi SE), Corte Madera (11 mi W). Looking further out, the nearest place we track is: north toward Vallejo (13 mi); northeast toward Martinez (12 mi); east toward Pleasant Hill (13 mi); southeast toward San Leandro (17 mi); south toward Oakland (11 mi); southwest toward Daly City (19 mi); west toward San Rafael (12 mi); northwest toward Novato (18 mi).
Who serves El Cerrito?
We track live outage data from Pacific Gas & Electric in Contra Costa County — but several utilities can serve one county, so confirm your own by searching your address on the live map. See the forecast panel above for how the estimate works — its inputs, its independence from the utility, and how every completed forecast is scored against what actually happened. Outages below 5 customers are too small for a meaningful area-wide estimate — the page says so instead of guessing.
El Cerrito's last tracked outage began Sep 2, peaked at 192 customers out, and was restored in 4 hours. Across the 3 outages tracked here, the typical (median) restoration ran 4 hours.
- Sep 2 — 192 customers out, restored in 4 hours
- Sep 1 — 161 customers out, restored in 13 hours
- Sep 1 — 25 customers out, restored in 50 minutes
Common questions
When will my power be back on in El Cerrito, CA?
It depends on the cause and how many crews are working. When's the Power Back? combines the live outage count, the current restoration rate, weather, and local history into an independent estimate for the El Cerrito area — shown even before your utility posts an official restoration time. Check the live power outage status at the top of this page. For context from El Cerrito's own record: across the 3 outages this site has tracked here, the typical (median) restoration ran 4 hours — the outage-history panel above lists them.
How do I check the power outage status in El Cerrito, CA?
This page is a live power outage status check for the El Cerrito area: current customers out, the affected areas on the map, and an independent restoration forecast when enough trend data is available, refreshed about every 15 minutes from utilities' own outage maps and the federal government's county outage data. To narrow it to your own street, search a El Cerrito ZIP code — 94530 — and the map opens on that area. Your utility's own outage map remains the official word for your account.
How do I report a power outage in El Cerrito, CA?
Report it to your electric utility — crews are dispatched from customer reports. Utilities tracked in Contra Costa County include Pacific Gas & Electric; confirm your own provider, then use its outage line or website. Reporting a downed line helps crews find the fault faster. In a life-threatening emergency, call 911.
Does this page show El Cerrito specifically, or the whole county?
Right now, the Contra Costa County county-wide view, which covers El Cerrito. No utility outage map we follow has yet listed an outage for El Cerrito by name; utilities here have so far reported only county-wide totals, or used area names we cannot match to El Cerrito. If that changes during an outage, the city's own count and restoration time appear here automatically. Albany (3 mi SW) is the closest place we track separately.
How accurate is the restoration estimate?
Every estimate is later graded against when the tracked outage was substantially restored (~90% of customers back), and the track record is published on our accuracy page. Estimates firm up a few hours into an outage once a steady restoration trend appears; very small outages are marked "too small to estimate" rather than guessed.
