Note:
I waited a few days
to get past the initial,
expected, complaints
about the blackouts, and
provide a more
balanced analysis.
According to
California
Democrats,
it seems that
any bad news,
on any subject,
is blamed on
climate change,
or on Donald Trump !
MY CONCLUSION:
No one likes
losing electricity
in their home,
or business.
Many Bay Area customers
are furious with PG&E
for its rolling blackout,
that plunged over
one million people
into darkness,
along with the crashed
PG&E website
that left customers
"in the dark" before
they lost their power.
We've lost power many times
at our home in Bingham Farms,
Michigan, a heavily wooded
suburb located five miles north
of Detroit, with above ground
power lines.
Many neighbors have gasoline
powered generators, which
create lots of noise, ruining
the peace and quiet of a
blackout -- probably the only
good thing about a blackout !
The deliberate PG&E
California Backout
may have prevented
a wildfire, or two.
PG&E CEO Bill Johnson
said crews inspected
25,000 miles of lines
across the state,
after the windstorm
passed.
PG&E announced
at least 50
of their utility poles
and power lines
were damaged
during the storm,
which could have
triggered wildfires
considering the usual
dry, windy conditions
this time of the year.
De-energized
power lines
prevented
a wildfire
catastrophe.
HERE'S WHAT
PEOPLE SAID:
"There were
definitely missteps,"
said
Elizaveta Malashenko,
a spokesperson
for the California
Public Utilities
Commission,
who was in the
PG&E control
center:
"It's pretty much
safe in saying
this did not go well."
"We'll get better
in the next month,
and better in
the next year,"
PG&E CEO
Bill Johnson
said on Saturday.
"Communication
to customers,
coordination with
state agencies,
website availability,
call center staff,
that's where
you will see
short-term
improvements."
"Today marks
an unprecedented
turn in the history
of electricity
in California,"
State Senator
Jerry Hill,
chairman of the
Subcommittee
on Energy, Utilities
and Communications,
said in a letter
on Wednesday to the
utilities commission.
"This situation
is not acceptable
nor sustainable."
SUMMARY:
Wednesday of last week,
PG&E triggered rolling
blackouts for nearly
735,000 homes and
businesses in the
San Francisco
Bay Area.
735,000 homes
and businesses
would affect over
one million people.
The deliberate blackout
was in reaction to the
threat of strong winds
and dry conditions
that would have
damaged transmission
wires and sparked
dangerous wildfires,
similar to 2017 and 2018.
Most residents
had their power
restored by
last Friday afternoon,
and 99.5% of PG&E
customers had
full power
by Saturday.
PG&E officials said
over last weekend
power had been
restored to everyone,
except for
2,500 customers
across several
Bay Area counties.
PG&E's approach
to shutdown various grids,
during a powerful windstorm
that hit the Bay Area,
was never tried before.
So problems managing
the controlled blackout, and
effectively communicating
what was happening to
PG&E customers,
were expected.
PG&E's latest defensive
tactic to prevent wildfires
during windstorms,
worked well enough
so that will be used again.
Bay Area residents
should consider buying
a diesel generator.
From an October 10, 2019
Wall Street Journal editorial:
"Why the progressive paragon
is living like it’s 1899"
“Californians are learning to live like the Amish after investor-owned utility PG&E this week shut off power to two million or so residents to prevent wildfires amid heavy, dry winds."
“Two dozen or so wildfires in the past few years have been linked to PG&E equipment, including one last fall that killed 85 people."
"PG&E under state law is on the hook for tens of billions of dollars in damages and has filed for bankruptcy."
"For years the utility skimped on safety upgrades and repairs while pumping billions into green energy and electric-car subsidies to please its overlords in Sacramento."
"Credit Suisse has estimated that long-term contracts with renewable developers cost the utility $2.2 billion annually more than current market power rates."
“PG&E customers pay among the highest rates in America."
"But the utility says inspecting all of its 100,000 or so miles of power lines and clearing dangerous trees would require rates to increase by more than 400%."
"California’s litigation-friendly environment has also increased insurance rates for tree trimmers and made it hard to find workers."
“Meantime, opposition to logging and prescribed burns in California’s forests compounded by a seven-year drought has yielded 147 million dead trees that make for combustible fuel."
“To avoid more damage, PG&E announced this week that it would cut power across 34 counties in Central and Northern California as long as there are sustained winds of 25 miles an hour and gusts of 45 miles an hour."
"After winds subside, the utility says it may take several days to inspect equipment before power returns, and there could be more blackouts this fall."