3 ms·
This is the result of trying to hold the power company in total responsibility for every fire for which it was the proximate cause. While PG&E has been somewha
by Aloha 7y ago
This is the result of trying to hold the power company in total responsibility for every fire for which it was the proximate cause.
While PG&E has been somewhat deficient in maintaining their network they have no control over the weather, winds, firefighting budgets, or forest policy.
Yet it alone is now to be held in total responsibility for all fires that originate with its equipment? thats absurd.
- dragonwriter 7y ago> This is the result of trying to hold the power company in total responsibility for every fire for which it was the proximate cause. Yes, otherwise they'd just keep burning down the state because of their preference for extracting profits over safety maintenance like they did the last two years, instead of blackouts to prevent fires. But, bad as the blackouts are, the food are worse, so insofar as the blackouts result from PG&E coming to grips with the liability impacts of causing fires, they are a good thing. A better thing would have been PG&E not underfunding maintenance for several years, but that would have meant less dividends for shareholders.
- Aloha 7y agoThe state PUC is ultimately responsible for regulating PG&E, if the maintenance was negligent why was PG&E not held to account before this happened?
- plorkyeran 7y agoPG&E spent at least 5 years falsifying maintenance records. Verifying that they did all of the maintenance that they claimed to have done would have been a rather substantial task.
- sliken 7y agoWell run power distribution do not start fires. There are standards for how close tree limbs can be to a power line. PG&E asked for money to meet those standards. PG&E accepted that money. Then PG&E didn't meet those standards. Sure acts of god, environmental changes, and other unusual issues start fires. However California has been hot and dry periodically and the existing standards provide good protection... it's just that PG&E is not meeting them.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- Aloha 7y agoI don't actually agree - sudden equipment failures, protection failures, winds blowing a tree over onto a 10kv feeder, etc. Well run power systems start few fires, but its not zero fires.