Decades of mismanagement by PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric) and utter disregard for consumer safety. Pure obsession with profits, short-range, not realizing that investment in preventive strategies would prevent losses.
Now PG&E is in bankruptcy and a whole new raft of claims will be coming, since the losses from the outage are NOT caused by acts of Nature, but by negligence of PG&E in refusing to take preventive steps that other California utilities had taken.
In 2007, there were numerous wild fires in San Diego County, including one that caused me an my family to be evacuated, though our home was not lost. Following that catastrophe, which resulted in SDG&E (San Diego Gas and Electric) being held responsible for almost $400 million in damages (within the last month the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal holding the investors, not ratepayers, liable), SDG&E immediately began strengthening the grid, spending $1.5 billion on improvements, replacing flimsy wood transmission poles with poles of steel and concrete, putting 143 miles of transmission lines underground (and more to come) and establishing microgrids to limit preventive blackouts to small, local areas. The improvements are still ongoing with a completion date expected of 2025.
So last year, when PG&E lines caused numerous fires, including the deadly Paradise fire, and Southern California Edison lines caused fires in Malibu and Thousand Oaks, there were NO FIRES in San Diego County.
PG&E already had a model for how to do this and they ignored it in favor of short-term profits and now they are in bankruptcy. The state should take over the utility.
Worked on powerline Rights of Way in several states, several operators, PG&W was the worst of them all. Many violations cultural sites, T& E species, and lousy maintenance, like what started the Paradise fire. Saving a buck was only part of the formula.
Which, So Cal Edison loaned us a helicopter to survey their proposed RW, when I noted the cost (I was a helicopter crew in ‘Nam) the guy responded simply, when we fire up the line, 17 seconds of profit will pay for it.
Yes, PG&E could easily afford to do things right, they just don’t.
this whole Fiasco with PG and E cutting inflicting costly blackouts to protect their customers is just so much bull… It just pin points the whole idea that if everyone has their own energy source in their own solar power panels or their own baby wind turbines, they could put a big dent in these corporate utility companies… These corporate utility companies need the competition from solar panels companies and from the baby turbines companies that are on the market… Maybe they will see the light?
One move against the idea of putting the giant power utilities at risk is to actually charge solar power generators for lost revenue instead of the power companies paying them back for their solar energy. Insidious way of harming solar. Solar power has been used since at least the middle to late 19th century onward. The solar voltaics started in the 1960’s onward. Time to rely on it. Solar-fusion power. No one could build a generator like our sun.
DD Wiz Premium Member over 4 years ago
Decades of mismanagement by PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric) and utter disregard for consumer safety. Pure obsession with profits, short-range, not realizing that investment in preventive strategies would prevent losses.
Now PG&E is in bankruptcy and a whole new raft of claims will be coming, since the losses from the outage are NOT caused by acts of Nature, but by negligence of PG&E in refusing to take preventive steps that other California utilities had taken.
In 2007, there were numerous wild fires in San Diego County, including one that caused me an my family to be evacuated, though our home was not lost. Following that catastrophe, which resulted in SDG&E (San Diego Gas and Electric) being held responsible for almost $400 million in damages (within the last month the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal holding the investors, not ratepayers, liable), SDG&E immediately began strengthening the grid, spending $1.5 billion on improvements, replacing flimsy wood transmission poles with poles of steel and concrete, putting 143 miles of transmission lines underground (and more to come) and establishing microgrids to limit preventive blackouts to small, local areas. The improvements are still ongoing with a completion date expected of 2025.
So last year, when PG&E lines caused numerous fires, including the deadly Paradise fire, and Southern California Edison lines caused fires in Malibu and Thousand Oaks, there were NO FIRES in San Diego County.
PG&E already had a model for how to do this and they ignored it in favor of short-term profits and now they are in bankruptcy. The state should take over the utility.
Dtroutma over 4 years ago
Worked on powerline Rights of Way in several states, several operators, PG&W was the worst of them all. Many violations cultural sites, T& E species, and lousy maintenance, like what started the Paradise fire. Saving a buck was only part of the formula.
Which, So Cal Edison loaned us a helicopter to survey their proposed RW, when I noted the cost (I was a helicopter crew in ‘Nam) the guy responded simply, when we fire up the line, 17 seconds of profit will pay for it.
Yes, PG&E could easily afford to do things right, they just don’t.
Zebrastripes over 4 years ago
POS!
Radish the wordsmith over 4 years ago
Everyone I know who got there power cut said, “there isn’t any wind here.”
Pontiac Mick over 4 years ago
The ghost of ENRON has risen.
S&C = Dismayed&Depressed over 4 years ago
guyjen2004 Premium Member over 4 years ago
CA is going to pot. Literally and figuratively :P
Night-Gaunt49[Bozo is Boffo] over 4 years ago
One move against the idea of putting the giant power utilities at risk is to actually charge solar power generators for lost revenue instead of the power companies paying them back for their solar energy. Insidious way of harming solar. Solar power has been used since at least the middle to late 19th century onward. The solar voltaics started in the 1960’s onward. Time to rely on it. Solar-fusion power. No one could build a generator like our sun.
Radish the wordsmith over 4 years ago
When you give yourself stock dividends instead of trimming the trees fires happen.