Judge’s order strives to reduce the number of fires caused by PG&E
By Adam Brinklow Jan 10, 2019, 11:09am PST
“PG&E may not take into account the inconvenience to customers or its revenues and profits” over safety, says federal judge
https://sf.curbed.com/2019/1/10/18177144/pge-power-grid-shutdown-order-wildfire-judge-fires
On Wednesday, a federal judge in charge of Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s (PG&E) ongoing criminal probation laid out a series of new regulations on the utility that are “intended to reduce to zero the number of wildfires caused by PG&E in the 2019 wildfire season.”
In the most sweeping of the proposed changes to the terms of PG&E’s probation, Judge William Alsup says that the company must shut off power to parts of its grid whenever there is sufficient risk of a fire hazard:
quote -———————
At all times during the 2019 Wildfire Season (and thereafter), PG&E may supply electricity only through those parts of its electrical grid it has determined to be safe under the wind conditions then prevailing. Conversely, PG&E must de-energize any part of its grid not yet rated as safe by PG&E for the wind conditions then prevailing until those conditions have subsided. [...]
PG&E may not take into account the need for reliability of service, the inconvenience to customers resulting from interruption in service, or its impact upon PG&E’s revenues and profits.
unquote -———————
This could mean extended blackouts for PG&E customers. But as Alsup points out, that’s a minor concern compared to the results of the state’s 2017 and 2018 wildfire records.
$2.6 billion per windy event. It is windy most days. Imagine 10 events or 20 events.
I bet PG&E are not going to black out large areas anymore.
Maybe even add cut off switches in more places.