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> Pacific Gas & Electric (which powers much of CA) recently announced that they may pre-emptively shut off power to certain parts of Silicon Valley out of conce

> Pacific Gas & Electric (which powers much of CA) recently announced that they may pre-emptively shut off power to certain parts of Silicon Valley out of concern for potential fires Huh, where can I read about this?

rconti 8y ago
Even just going to pge.com i get an interstitial about it, but no detail. A couple links: https://yubanet.com/regional/pge-shutting-off-power-during-high-wildfire-threats-what-does-it-mean/ https://yubanet.com/regional/pge-shutting-off-power-during-h... https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/06/12/pge-could-shut-off-power-on-purpose-amid-fire-hazards/ https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/06/12/pge-could-shut-off-po...
mcpherrinm 8y ago
TLDR: Power lines are a cause of wildfires, and PG&E may shut down power on some transmission lines in times of extreme fire danger. https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/For-PG-E-cutting-power-could-prevent-fires-save-13019005.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/For-PG-E-cuttin... https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2018/06/25/pge-cutting-power/ https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2018/06/25/pge-cutting-power...
- joering2 8y ago
  Interesting fact: years ago it was designed to build electric infrastructure above the ground because air friction addsup about 20% of electricty, free. It wouldnt be possible underground. But then, you know, whole State of amedium size country like California, would have no power interruptions in heat spikes.
gnicholas 8y ago
I read about it in The Almanac [1]. Also, note that the map that shows higher and lower risk zones doesn't actually indicate what locations may be affected by outages. They only show where the affected lines are, but those apparently feed homes/buildings that appear to be in the clear. 1: https://www.almanacnews.com/news/2018/07/25/pge-may-cut-power-in-extreme-weather https://www.almanacnews.com/news/2018/07/25/pge-may-cut-powe...

rconti 8y ago

Even just going to pge.com i get an interstitial about it, but no detail. A couple links: https://yubanet.com/regional/pge-shutting-off-power-during-high-wildfire-threats-what-does-it-mean/ https://yubanet.com/regional/pge-shutting-off-power-during-h... https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/06/12/pge-could-shut-off-power-on-purpose-amid-fire-hazards/ https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/06/12/pge-could-shut-off-po...

mcpherrinm 8y ago

TLDR: Power lines are a cause of wildfires, and PG&E may shut down power on some transmission lines in times of extreme fire danger. https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/For-PG-E-cutting-power-could-prevent-fires-save-13019005.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/For-PG-E-cuttin... https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2018/06/25/pge-cutting-power/ https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2018/06/25/pge-cutting-power...

joering2 8y ago
Interesting fact: years ago it was designed to build electric infrastructure above the ground because air friction addsup about 20% of electricty, free. It wouldnt be possible underground. But then, you know, whole State of amedium size country like California, would have no power interruptions in heat spikes.

gnicholas 8y ago

I read about it in The Almanac [1]. Also, note that the map that shows higher and lower risk zones doesn't actually indicate what locations may be affected by outages. They only show where the affected lines are, but those apparently feed homes/buildings that appear to be in the clear. 1: https://www.almanacnews.com/news/2018/07/25/pge-may-cut-power-in-extreme-weather https://www.almanacnews.com/news/2018/07/25/pge-may-cut-powe...