3rd time in 3 weeks. I joked that the difference between a 1st world and 3rd world country is that a 1st world country will tell you before they cut you power for 2 days.
The state regulates PG&E, sets rates, and also establishes liability on the utility for incidental fires. So the state regulates them, they follow regulation but when something anticipated happens they’re still liable.
So the natural thing to do in that conundrum, as the Wargames villain quoth: the only winning move is to not play.
Ergo they take their energy and go home.
The rainy season in California is shrinking and becoming more erratic due to climate change. Temperatures in the fall are at record highs and winds are above average turning small/ manageable fires into unstoppable hellstorms that cover 10s of thousands of acres and travel at 20mph+.
We're 10+ years into this and PG&E has been allowed to increase their rates to mitigate fire risks, but instead of using that money to increase maintenance and modernize, PG&E cut big fat checks to shareholders.
Other power companies in similar areas such as SMUD haven't had similar fire issues because they haven't neglected maintenance.
PG&E management has failed the public by letting their infrastructure turn into a massive risk. They've failed their customers by delivering un-reliable & unsafe service. They've failed their shareholders by creating a massive-unrecoverable liability.
PG&E management needs to get replaced all the way to the board level.
They've admitted they don't have the time, money, nor manpower to go out and play catch up with all the maintenance that they have deferred, and now the public (their customers) is suffering.
They deserve to go bankrupt from this.
Edgier take: People are forced out to these areas because California cities allow very little housing to be built.
Including people from some extremely impoverished countries
So rolling blackouts from a series of poorly thought out policies is very congruent
The state is falling apart. Its changed so much in the last 20 years. I would rather the Sierra Nevadas be part of Nevada and let the bay area and LA leave us alone.
The biggest shame is how much money there is in the Bay Area and how many (already solved problems) exist here.
The drought, above average heat, and likely the dry late season winds which are huge contributors to this problem are due to global warming which is symptom of a global problem which the United States government refuses to address.
The lack of maintenance has lead directly to the fires.
The regulator decides how much maintenance they need to get done, and how much cash they can take out.
Since they've been responsible for a number of fires in recent years, how are they not being fined or held accountable or for not properly maintaining their infrastructure?
Then PG&E would say: "ok, let us raise rates so it does not impact profit"
If they disagree on that, it's a long administrative and legal process to work it out.
Also, many of the employees of the regulator are either:
- former (and future!) energy company employees
- owe their jobs to politicians who take $ from the energy companies
It is a complex, opaque process (to decide on require maintenance levels) that ends up controlled by the people who care the most about it.