Sunday, October 27, 2019

Fires and Blackouts Made in Sacramento

After again shutting power to hundreds of thousands this week, California's utility PG&E disclosed Thursday that it had discovered a broken jumper cable by the ignition site of a wildfire blazing across Sonoma County.

The state Public Utilities Commission is in charge of enforcing state safety laws and regulations, which can carry penalties of up to $50,000 per violation per day.

State law mandates that utilities obtain 33% of electric generation from renewables such as wind and solar by 2020 and 60% by 2030.

Utilities must spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year to reduce the cost of green energy for low-income households.

The Legislature in 2015 mandated that utilities spend $100 million annually on solar systems in low-income communities.

Gov. Newsom is demanding that PG&E pay rebates to customers affected by the blackouts.

Democrats are accusing PG&E of putting profits over safety, but the utilities commission approves its return on equity based on what's needed to attract private investment.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/fires-and-blackouts-made-in-sacramento-11572044500?mod=hp_opin_pos_1

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