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Presumably the Sacramento utility district doesn't serve high risk fire areas, so their customers don't have to subsidize people that choose to live on the wild
by sagarm 5y ago
Presumably the Sacramento utility district doesn't serve high risk fire areas, so their customers don't have to subsidize people that choose to live on the wildlands-urban interface.
- simfree 5y agoThey also have never had to pay out dividends unlike PG&E, or been forced to optimize for what will deliver the most value to their shareholders. https://www.pgecorp.com/investors/shareholders/dividend_history.shtml https://www.pgecorp.com/investors/shareholders/dividend_hist...
- samtho 5y agoSMUD does operate HV lines into the Sierras as part of the Upper American River Project consisting of 11 dams and eight power generating facilities. It’s capable of powering most of Sacramento in a pinch but is typically used only when they need more capacity. Throughout the course of a year, it ends up providing about 20% of Sacramento’s power. SMUD has very strict preventative maintenance procedures for their HV transmission lines, clearing all underbrush from below the 15KV lines almost yearly. We have not had any major incidents involving electrical fires in my lifetime that I am aware of.