Menlo Park-area residents west of Alameda de las Pulgas, and including Sharon Heights, are expressing frustration over frequent power outages.

At around 5 p.m. today, a resident reported receiving an automated call from PG&E urging voluntary reductions in power consumption in the Menlo Park area until 9 p.m. to avoid power outages. Residents with questions were asked to call 1-800-PGE-5000.

On Wednesday night, June 13, the neighborhood west of Alameda de Las Pulgas near Avy Avenue, including Sharon Heights, lost power from around 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., said Dale Horelick, longtime resident of Altschul Avenue.

This is the third time in two months such an extended blackout has occurred in the area, said the former electrical engineer.

Melissa Mooney, spokeswoman for PG&E, said the outage was due to "failed underground cables." The previous outages in May and June were due to "failed splices" in the cable.

Crews have set up temporary overhead connections and brought in generators while the underground cable of about 2,000 feet is being replaced. Generators will be in place for 30 days, although the repair work is not expected to take that long, she said.

Ms. Mooney said she knows her customers expect reliable service and apologizes for the inconvenience the blackouts have caused.

Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.