If the power lines would have been kept clear all along, the cost would have been spread out and budgeted for and there would not be such a huge price tag now.
But “environmental” regulations stopped proper line maintenance, at the same time creating fuel-filled forests ready to burn big with the slightest spark.
In addition, regulations have driven up the cost of producing and delivering electricity. There was a big push for deregulation in the 1990s, which should have helped increase the supply, but the politicians only exchanged one set of regulations for another, called their sleight of hand “deregulation” and none of the issues were addressed. Twenty years later, the problems have only grown.
California was such a beautiful state. It is sad to see what it became when it succumbed to that socialism addiction.
Well said and on point.
We have a variant of the same problem in the DC area. We do love our trees and our leafy green neighborhoods. But at some point, the local utility does need to trim trees around power lines, or the inevitable will happen. Out in suburban lala land where the Starbucks addicts defend their cul de sacs like the French at Verdun, it is almost impossible to cut trees. The more upscale the suburb, the harder it gets. Every few years, we get a severe ice storm and major blackouts from crashing limbs. This, of course, is invariably held to be the utility's fault.