Make a Power Move?

[TromboneAl]

Tomorrow we may have to evacuate the third-world country that we live in, and we might contact a real estate agent to see if we want to make the evacuation permanent.

There's no reliable power here.

 

[RobbieB]

Get solar and a generator and a Tesla wall.

 

[gerntz]

I use a power mower.

 

[Another Reader]

Tomorrow we may have to evacuate the third-world country that we live in, and we might contact a real estate agent to see if we want to make the evacuation permanent.

There's no reliable power here.

Generator?

Where would you go? How about just taking a vacation until this blows over? The air quality here is getting worse because of the fire and our power shutoff starts tomorrow evening. Considering bugging out to Phoenix for a few days.

How's the lot sale next door going?

 

[swakyaby]

There's no reliable power here.

I’ve wondered how affected people are coping with the planned power shut offs. It seems this will be a recurrent frustration every time there is wind. I wouldn’t want to live like that either.

 

[Buckeye]

Whole house generator.

I keep debating on installing one (Florida) to cruise through hurricane power outages. So far we have done fine between our small portable Ryobi and being allowed to share my neighbor's mammoth detail business generator that keeps our garage fridge running.

 

[Miarocks]

I say sell your house while you can still find a buyer.
This will go on for the foreseeable future, if not permanently.

 

[dirtbiker]

California is a great place to visit, but I'd never want to live there. Between the cost of living, taxes, overbearing laws, earthquakes, fires, etc., I don't know why anyone would choose to live there. Sorry Californians!

 

[Bamaman]

California is a great place to visit, but I'd never want to live there. Between the cost of living, taxes, overbearing laws, earthquakes, fires, etc., I don't know why anyone would choose to live there. Sorry Californians!

And don't forget the homeless. I prefer societies that are not in complete disarray and deteriorating to unbelievable levels. The homeless issue is one of those problems without any solution.

 

[Ronstar]

As others have said, bring home one of these. I used to have power issues - no more.

 

[Red Badger]

Tomorrow we may have to evacuate the third-world country that we live in, and we might contact a real estate agent to see if we want to make the evacuation permanent.

There's no reliable power here.

The latest scuttle is that PG&E will need / seek a federal bailout. I'll be in the "no" camp. Not my monkey - not my circus. Cali has dug it's own holes. Let Cali deal with them.

Sorry Al. Get packing. It ain't gonna get better out there.

 

[donheff]

Not my monkey - not my circus. Cali has dug it's own holes. Let Cali deal with them.

To a degree. But they probably have as much call on help as flood and hurricane areas do. They overbuilt in high risk burn areas but others build up barrier islands and flood plains. Also there seems to be evidence that the CA burns are greater due to climate change which is less CA's fault than other locations. CA has done more to push emission controls than others haven't they?

 

[Senator]

To a degree. But they probably have as much call on help as flood and hurricane areas do. They overbuilt in high risk burn areas but others build up barrier islands and flood plains. Also there seems to be evidence that the CA burns are greater due to climate change which is less CA's fault than other locations. CA has done more to push emission controls than others haven't they?

My guess is that the reason that the utility lines have not been upgraded is due to excessive regulation, permits. environmental impact studies, bans on natural gas and propane use, and other hurdles unrelated to putting up a power line.

Let them eat cake.

 

[LRDave]

My guess is that the reason that the utility lines have not been upgraded is due to excessive regulation, permits. environmental impact studies, bans on natural gas and propane use, and other hurdles unrelated to putting up a power line.

Or could it be greed and short-sighted management decisions to save cost to improve profits (and executive bonuses) that led to cuts that should have been invested back in the company's infrastructure?

 

[TromboneAl]

Regarding a generator, unfortunately we have become dependent on the internet, to a large extent. Sad but true.

I used to enjoy cozy power outages, but one neighbor has a noisy propane generator for his whole house, so when the power goes out there's a constant rumbling as if a large truck was idling outside.

I thought that after the first outage, the outcry would be so pervasive that they wouldn't do it again. I can understand the logic, however, and those fires are terrible (we lost our house in the Oakland firestorm of 1991). But if PG&E stays with this current policy, we could have a shutdown every few weeks.

I agree with Don: Welcome to climate change.

We're lucky we can afford to go to a hotel for a few days. We''ll drive to Crescent City and Brookings, cities that get their power from a different utility.

>How's the lot sale next door going?
Nothing happening there so far. We're still waiting on the soils engineer who will give us an opinion on its buildability, but our attitude has shifted toward moving away. That's one reason we'll be looking at houses farther north.

 

[COcheesehead]

California is a great place to visit, but I'd never want to live there. Between the cost of living, taxes, overbearing laws, earthquakes, fires, etc., I don't know why anyone would choose to live there. Sorry Californians!

What’s the difference between California and the Titanic? The Titanic went down with the lights on.

 

[tulak]

That's one reason we'll be looking at houses farther north.

How far north?

Lots of nice places in Oregon. Same for Washington. And if you live along the border of the two, you can minimize your taxes.

 

[Senator]

Or could it be greed and short-sighted management decisions to save cost to improve profits (and executive bonuses) that led to cuts that should have been invested back in the company's infrastructure?

Probably not. Utilities are well regulated. Profits are limited.

 

[calmloki]

We drove through T-Al's area a couple years ago and it is just straight up beautiful. Hard for me to think that the place will become an abandoned wasteland. We bought in the freaking scorching desert of SoCal - think a fire would be hard pressed to make the long jumps from creosote bush to wisp of grass to cactus. Houses are jammed together though, so without water a fire in town would be pretty bad. Turn off the power and that 100+ degree heat becomes unlivable. When any basic service goes away those that can will up stakes and move.
Hope you are slow to make any sudden moves Al - hard to think that California would just wither up and fall off the continental states.

 

[Another Reader]

Probably not. Utilities are well regulated. Profits are limited.

PG&E has been known colloquially as Pacific Graft and Extortion since the 1940's or earlier. Some of that is just griping, but there apparently is a long history of funds set aside for maintenance and repairs being diverted to other things.

A PG&E gas line up in San Bruno that had been scheduled for a replacement that was not done blew up in a residential neighborhood back in 2010. Eight people were killed. It's well known that the vegetation trimming is years behind schedule.

PG&E has twice filed for protection under Chapter 11. The bankruptcy judge this time should have looked at this mess and ordered the bankruptcy converted from reorganization to liquidation. Let someone more responsible buy the assets and run the business.

 

[OldShooter]

Or could it be greed and short-sighted management decisions to save cost to improve profits (and executive bonuses) that led to cuts that should have been invested back in the company's infrastructure?

Actually, in our state and I think also everywhere else it is the state regulators who control infrastructure investments. Also, since utilities are guaranteed a return on investments it is typical for them to be pushing investments, not avoiding them.

Re executive bonuses and salaries you will not get pushback from me complaining about them, but the math says that they are only rarely large enough to affect the base business scenario.

Re the "big bad companies" there are no bears in caves sitting on piles of money. Most of any company's revenue goes back out the door in purchases and salaries. The fraction that stays as profits belongs to the shareholders. IOW, you, me, and the widows and orphans for whom utility stocks have historically recommended as safe investments. No cave. No bear. No pile of money.

Actually, if I lived in CA the issue of occasional power interruptions would be far down on the list of reasons I would be urgently planning my escape.

 

[Another Reader]

Actually, in our state and I think also everywhere else it is the state regulators who control infrastructure investments. Also, since utilities are guaranteed a return on investments it is typical for them to be pushing investments, not avoiding them.

Re executive bonuses and salaries you will not get pushback from me complaining about them, but the math says that they are only rarely large enough to affect the base business scenario.

Re the "big bad companies" there are no bears in caves sitting on piles of money. Most of any company's revenue goes back out the door in purchases and salaries. The fraction that stays as profits belongs to the shareholders. IOW, you, me, and the widows and orphans for whom utility stocks have historically recommended as safe investments. No cave. No bear. No pile of money.

Actually, if I lived in CA the issue of occasional power interruptions would be far down on the list of reasons I would be urgently planning my escape.

Quote from the Wikipedia article on the pipeline explosion:

"On January 13, 2012, an independent audit from the State of California issued a report stating that PG&E had illegally diverted over $100 million from a fund used for safety operations, and instead used it for executive compensation and bonuses."

 

[OldShooter]

Quote from the Wikipedia article on the pipeline explosion:

"On January 13, 2012, an independent audit from the State of California issued a report stating that PG&E had illegally diverted over $100 million from a fund used for safety operations, and instead used it for executive compensation and bonuses."

Well, isn't that fun? I guess I am/was a little bit idealistic with the comments. Hopefully that is a situation unique to CA.

 

[ERD50]

... Also there seems to be evidence that the CA burns are greater due to climate change...

... I agree with Don: Welcome to climate change. ...

I'm no climate change denier, but I am highly skeptical of attributing cause-effect to these shutdowns and fires.

I did some searching, lots of weather almanac data for Northern CA, but so far I didn't find any in a convenient, digestible format. I think we need say, 100 years of seasonal data, since it appears the fires are more an effect of the dry season rain than average annual? Annual averages might be misleading if you had a very wet season, then a very dry season that left the trees vulnerable? Seasonal rain, seasonal temperatures for 80~100 years? Maybe wind data? Anyone got that (I'll be out for a while)?

And maybe the data needs to be from the areas where the power lines are at risk? In a coastal area, climate can change pretty significantly in a few hundred miles.

PG&E has been known colloquially as Pacific Graft and Extortion since the 1940's or earlier. ...

A PG&E gas line up in San Bruno that had been scheduled for a replacement that was not done blew up in a residential neighborhood back in 2010. Eight people were killed. It's well known that the vegetation trimming is years behind schedule. ...

Well, this is a regulated utility right? Where were the regulators (I assume that's the State of CA?)? There's been talk (I will try to find a good source of data later if no one beats me to it), that it was the regulators limiting the amount of maintenance that can be done (environmental issues with clear cutting the trees?).

I'll wait for the data, but Occam is whispering to me that this has far, far more to do with the management of power lines than climate change.

... Also there seems to be evidence that the CA burns are greater due to climate change which is less CA's fault than other locations. CA has done more to push emission controls than others haven't they?

Even if I were to say 'yes' to your thinking that CA has done more to push emissions controls than others, is there any evidence at all that that would have any effect on the outcomes? I think we can all look to China for that, with all their added coal plants. Do people from CA buy any products made in China? And with their population, they buy a lot.

-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

Quote from the Wikipedia article on the pipeline explosion:

"On January 13, 2012, an independent audit from the State of California issued a report stating that PG&E had illegally diverted over $100 million from a fund used for safety operations, and instead used it for executive compensation and bonuses."

And how did the regulators deal with that? And how long did it go unnoticed by the regulators?

-ERD50