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Maybe not, but PG&E sure seems to be immune. It's not a great look when you both have very high electricity prices [0] and you're also frequently starting fires
by zbrozek 5y ago
Maybe not, but PG&E sure seems to be immune. It's not a great look when you both have very high electricity prices [0] and you're also frequently starting fires and killing people. But good news, shareholders, it turns out that actually being convicted of crimes [1] as a corporation is no big deal, so much so that they're pleading guilty to manslaughter ten years later [2]. And even better, there's regulatory capture that makes it extremely hard for municipalities to stand up their own services to provide safer and cheaper power to residents [3].
[0] 0.26/KWh if you're a saint and use almost nothing to $0.41/KWh if you use a normal-or-more amount of electricity. See https://www.pge.com/tariffs/assets/pdf/tariffbook/ELEC_SCHEDS_E-1.pdf https://www.pge.com/tariffs/assets/pdf/tariffbook/ELEC_SCHED...
[1] https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/pge-ordered-develop-compliance-and-ethics-program-part-its-sentence-engaging-criminal https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/pge-ordered-develop-com...
[2] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pg-e-pleads-guilty-manslaughter-paradise-california-fire-84-counts/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pg-e-pleads-guilty-manslaughter...
[3] https://www.desertsun.com/story/tech/science/energy/2018/10/10/california-deciding-how-much-you-have-pay-ditch-sce-pge-sdge/1582312002/ https://www.desertsun.com/story/tech/science/energy/2018/10/...