power to the internet

Thu Dec 26 14:19:11 UTC 2019

>
> Same story again different colors. PG&E making a mint while people get
> screwed
>

I'm not quite sure that's an accurate statement.

In 2000-2001, PG&E got screwed by Enron's market manipulation. ( Good job
those who pushed so hard for deregulation of public utility services! )

PG&E is currently in bankruptcy proceedings, largely as a result of
liabilities from wildfires in 2017 and 2018. Under California's
application of inverse condemnation, a power utility is responsible for any
damage caused by a wildfire if it was determined that their equipment was
part of the cause. This applies even if the utility was in 100% compliance
with all laws and regulations.

So you have a terrible combination where housing prices in the state are
driving more and more people to build in wildfire prone areas, climate
change is increasing the frequency of weather conditions favorable to
wildfire ignition, and the utility company that is being held financially
liable for damages while at the same time not being allowed by the PUC to
raise capital for infrastructure changes to reduce the chances of
electrical equipment starting such things.

The answer is easy. Money. If people want a power grid that is safe and
reliable, then the utility should be given the funds to do it via rates and
appropriate tax revenues. They should not be expected to turn profits like
private enterprise. The power grid is for the benefit of all, not just the
financial benefit of those who have equity stakes.

This situation is the logical extension of 40+ years of America's only real
product ; financial engineering.

On Wed, Dec 25, 2019 at 9:18 PM Michael Loftis <mloftis at wgops.com> wrote:

>
>
> On Wed, Dec 25, 2019 at 19:00 Constantine A. Murenin <mureninc at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 25 Dec 2019 at 19:32, Michael Thomas <mike at mtcc.com> wrote:
>>
>>> On the dark side, this is probably coming to a lot more states and
>>> countries due to climate change. Australia. Sigh.
>>>
>>
>> Do you have a source for this?  It would seem that these power issues are
>> rather unique to California not because of some "climate change" bogeyman,
>> but rather because of a failed public policy at the state level.
>>
>> It would also seem that these issues of rolling blackouts aren't even new
>> to California, either, as, apparently, it's already been the norm during
>> 2000/2001:
>>
>
>
> Having lived through the blackouts that was entirely different. 90% Enron
> manipulating the markets. There was plenty of capacity both in transmission
> and generation, but Enron manipulated prices and apparent supply to make
> money and screwed the whole state over. There was just about 2x the
> generating capacity, no real shortage.
>
> This time it’s PG&E all alone, but still fallout from back then. Too much
> liability and they’ve not maintained the infrastructure and so they decided
> that to reduce the liability costs it’s cheaper to blackout. Same story
> again different colors. PG&E making a mint while people get screwed (PG&E
> was mostly at the getting screwed end in 2000-2001)
>
>>
>> * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_electricity_crisis
>>
>> C.
>>
> --
>
> "Genius might be described as a supreme capacity for getting its possessors
> into trouble of all kinds."
> -- Samuel Butler
>
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