PGE considering cutting off power in Northern California later this week due to fire hazard (Bakersfield: headhunter, to buy)

[BeauCharles]

We got the call Monday. Power went off at 1AM... and then came back on at 6AM. I don't know what to think now. Hopefully it'll stay on (been almost four hours now). If it were just me I'd be OK with it, but I have an elderly parent in the home and she's basically an invalid.

[TheShadow]

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

Except for the fires that have been deliberately set.

Yes, there are sickos out here who do that.

Yes that's vile and evil, but shutting down the power when the wind blows does absolutely nothing to help that. So really not the issue at this time.

[TheShadow]

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

Put another way...

Our horrifyingly careless* electric utility is currently planning to shut off the power to part or most of San Mateo County starting from noon to 5 pm today.

They've repeatedly stated these blackouts could be five days or longer in duration. Imagine not being able to work for that length of time because your company closed down. Imagine not getting paid. Imagine running out of food when businesses are closed.

I went to the ATM this morning to get some cash -- credit cards won't work if there's no power, nor will ATMs -- and thought there would be a line, but no. Maybe it hasn't sunk in yet. We are a spoiled bunch here, after all.

"Pigs Greed & Extortion" is a long-time nickname for Pacific Gas & Electric. Don't judge until you see my electric bill. Our rates are among the highest in the nation, would probably BE the highest if not for Hawaii.

*PG&E is directly responsible for roasting 8 people alive in their San Bruno homes.

Not too mention 85 people, mostly elderly, in the town of Paradise. Not to mention the 22 people killed in the Tubb fire the year before, both of which were caused by PG&E equipment and the vegetation surrounding them.

[vincenze]

Originally Posted by CrownVic95

It is clear that this needs to be taken out of current PG&E management's hands.

Don't you understand that it's a liberal judge who ordered that power must be shut off during winds?
And that PG&E was sued for not shutting down power.

Danko also represents a group of plaintiffs suing PG&E over the 2017 wine country fires, a group of Northern California blazes. Cal Fire has pinned the blame on PG&E in at least 16 wildfires in last year’s fire siege, including some blazes with fatalities.

According to Danko, other California utilities do a better job of “mitigating the risk. For example, in Southern California when there are windy conditions, the utilities as a matter of routine for some time have shut off the power so that if the lines come down it won’t spark a fire. That’s something that PG&E never did until after the wine country fires.”

The attorney claims PG&E sent out emails indicating it would shut off power before the Camp Fire but didn’t do it. “Their meteorologists were watching the conditions, and then they decided not to,” he said. “They decided to leave the power on.”

Still, Danko alleges that PG&E has “nefarious” reasons for keeping the power on.

“PG&E does not want to shut off power for the reason that management bonuses are tied not to safety, but rather the lack of customer complaints,” Danko said. He said when the power is shut off to customers they complain so management is therefore hesitant to flip the power off.

[Ceece]

PG&E push back. They have nothing to loose and everything to gain by doing this IMO.

[marino760]

Up to 1 million people may have power cut off in both northern Cal and southern Cal. It's a no win situation. The utilities cannot set their own rates. They need the approval of the CA state Utilities commission.

If they are granted the request to raise rates to upgrade infrastructure, people will cry bloody murder. They already have some of the highest rates in the country. If they don't do this and there are fires caused by wind resulting in downed power lines, then they are accused of murder. If they turn off the electricity to some areas prone to brush fires, then they are accused of ruining peoples lives who have to make due without electrical power for a couple of days.

You figure it out.

[M3 Mitch]

Originally Posted by Giesela

A lot of people own PG&E stock. I'm sure they are happy when profits are up. Does no good to call them greedy when its what everyone wants.

When a power company is run by engineers, you have moderate but reliable profits, enough money is plowed back into the system so it continues to work right. New power plants are built, or at least the old ones are maintained right. Vegetation is cleared away from the power lines. New, heavier lines are put up when demand warrants.



When run by accountants and/or lawyers, you have bigger profits for a while, because they don't spend money on "that engineering stuff" - then they find out the hard way that the engineers were right and they were wrong about how much profit they could keep from income. I don't know but would guess PG&E is not run by engineers.



Simple as that, really.

[harry chickpea]

Originally Posted by marino760

Up to 1 million people may have power cut off in both northern Cal and southern Cal. It's a no win situation. The utilities cannot set their own rates. They need the approval of the CA state Utilities commission.

If they are granted the request to raise rates to upgrade infrastructure, people will cry bloody murder. They already have some of the highest rates in the country. If they don't do this and there are fires caused by wind resulting in downed power lines, then they are accused of murder. If they turn off the electricity to some areas prone to brush fires, then they are accused of ruining peoples lives who have to make due without electrical power for a couple of days.

You figure it out.

There are very few situations where Ayn Rand actually addressed more than romantic fiction and fantasy worlds, but the parallels here to "Atlas Shrugged" are striking. You couldn't pay me enough to head a utility in such an environment (both physical and political).

[twins4lynn]

I'm in San Mateo County, too. Most of the affected areas in our county seem to be south of San Mateo (and it looks like primarily west of 280. It's hard to tell on their maps). My daughter works in Woodside and their power will be turned off at 12:00 today, but she's still needed at work (she starts at 1 PM).

Our utilities are underground, but that won't matter if other electrical grids affect our grid.

The whole thing stinks.

[katharsis]

I am wondering if this thread is not just full of ridiculous "the sky is falling" drama. I am not saying that's the case, but I hope it is -- because if what people have written in this thread IS what is going to happen (meaning no power for FIVE days), then I don't think the predictions of "catastrophe" will be exaggerated at all. The only good thing about this situation is that this might be something like a dress rehearsal for the rest of the nation IF an EMP ever hits.

Also, there are quite a few farmers in Central and Northern California, so if all their crops have not yet been harvested, I wonder how that will affect them and the upcoming prices for agricultural products?

Anyway, I truly do hope that things won't be as bad as some people here are saying might be the case!