Posted on 10/12/2019 4:05:16 AM PDT by karpov
...
[PG&E] told its bankruptcy judge that eliminating trees and vegetation from around its power lines would cost up to $150 billion and require 650,000 employees. PG&E’s customers already pay twice the national average for electricity. An alternative plan would be to radically decentralize its system so power cutoffs could be more “surgical.” This would also be expensive and, in PG&E’s sprawling territory, would still mean widespread blackouts.
More equitable solutions are easy to envision, if only they were politically acceptable. Utilities could be relieved of their blanket fire liability, transferring the risk to homeowners and insurance markets. Utilities could be allowed to charge higher rates for customers in fire-prone districts. They could be allowed to refuse to extend their networks into such areas.
But the least rational outcome is also the most likely. Households will continue to be sheltered from the financial consequences of building in wildfire areas. The costs will be opaquely divided between ratepayers and the state’s taxpayers, amid much rhetoric about the evils of climate change and corporate greed. Here’s the kicker: The imposed blackouts then will be able to stop even though the fire risk remains unchanged.
In fact, missing is any data showing that today’s blackouts meaningfully or cost effectively reduce the public’s risks.
After all, 90% of fires, according to the California Public Utilities Commission, are caused by something other than power lines. Power outages can only impede fighting these fires or alerting neighbors to their existence. Thousands of dubiously competent homeowners will be firing up gas-powered generators in tinder-dry areas at the moment of maximum risk. How is this helping? When the lights go dark, the candles come out—a major source of house fires. Then there are the thousands of citizens dependent on home medical devices that stop working
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
You’re right....name calling helps nothing. Sorry
Anybody who grew up in hurricane country knows you don't rely on just one thing. I have LED lights (first choice) with 1)propane gas mantle lamps, 2) kerosene mantle lamps, and yes 3) candles as backups. Also have two small stoves, one propane and one butane.
People don’t understand the makeup of the modern Democratic party, it is a fractious mess of groups that hate one another and spend their energies trying to drive other groups out.
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.
The rule of - three is two - two is one - one is none.
[PG&E] told its bankruptcy judge that eliminating trees and vegetation from around its power lines would cost up to $150 billion and require 650,000 employees.
This is an idiotic position. The ROA maintenance must be done anyway or over time nature will overtake the system in areas of substantial growth. It would only take 650,000 employees to do it all at once. Total lawyer cotriver argument. We had the same thing here on a smaller scale. Deferred maintenance over many years caused extensive reliability issues. The PSB forced the issue and ROA maintenance has been ongoing for a dozen years or so with good results.
Only candles we have are decorative. Little girl and boy pilgrims and the like. I have a 220 volt gas generator. During my ten days without power from Sandy we used it judiciously. My boys waiting on gas lines to keep all tanks filled. On cold nights fired it up in the evening to power the oil fired burner for heat and hot water and shut it off at bed time. Fired it up for an hour or so in the AM for the same. Actually it got warm during the day. It easily powered 2-3 air conditioners ( what a luxury!).
We never ran out of gas that way but it was always on our minds. Power out for 10 days and never lost cable. When the power was on we watched TV and had WiFi.
Well said and on point.
The ‘Kalizuela’ blackouts make perfect sense, when one considers that its libtard residents freely chose to be ruled for decades by totalitarian socialist oligarchs. I have no sympathy whatsoever. Just keep clear of Texas! You imbeciles crapped in your own hat, so stay there and wallow in it.
If you can't figure this out, you're an idiot.
AND...how’s this ‘blackout’ working out for all those Electric Car owners!?!
Ridiculous. I know a guy that could manage doing it for 1/100'th of that figure, and quickly. Except, he's busy at similar and even bigger job for at least the next 5 years. Perhaps PGE should think about this guy's methods, and do it in CA, granted on a much smaller scale.
Yes. Perfect sense.
Let libtards run wild and you get *this*.
Environmental loons refuse to allow sensible management of overgrowth and every year, catastrophic losses.
But, hold the schadenfreude. Our hard earned money helps fund the pink foam air drops.
What we are witnessing here is Democrat policies coming to ultimate fruition...having your cake and eating it too. Enjoy California, very tasty!
I got some battery operated candles from Amazon for $17.99, and they are amazing. Much nicer than I expected.
Because of my canary, I can’t burn real candles in the living room. These even have two settings.
I’m quite impressed.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MU3PIKJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The planned power outages serve the purpose of creating a ‘crisis’, which government will now ‘solve’.
My expectation is that either PG&E will demand state regulators double the existing electric rates to pay for all the deferred maintenance or the state of California takes over PG&E and passes the added maintenance cost along to tax payers.
Our fires jump 8 lane freeways because of wind. Wouldn’t you call an 8 lane freeway a heckuva fire break? By the way, yeah, they do still cut firebreaks here.
The bright minds that run California seem not to understand that nature can take over an area rather quickly. Power crews in Wisconsin routinely trim back trees every year. I am sure California has the technology to determine the rough area where a power trip occurs when a line briefly touches a tree branch. Simple solution is to send out a crew and trim back the trees.
President Trump and Republican governors should forbid goverment employees from attending and participating in events held in California due to safety issues. Much like the “new normal” Obama did with events in Las Vegas and the state of Nevada.
Despite the "temporary" blackout, there is still a massive, destructive fire in Southern California. As I am an idiot, the blackout still looks like a bandaid over a traumatic amputation. The overgrowth of underbrush is still the fuel that incinerates the Golden State.
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