Free Republic

Sustained power outages caused by electric-wire failures in Northern California could double or even quadruple in years to come unless PG&E Corp. PCG -1.46% steps up its replacement of aging equipment, according to a utility-commissioned analysis. PG&E’s current rate of electric-line replacement falls far short of what’s needed to prevent a surge of failures due to the effects of aging, according to the analysis by researchers at Georgia Tech. The analysis suggests the current focus on upgrading distribution lines in areas of extreme fire risk fails to solve a more basic problem of age-related deterioration, especially in coastal areas where...

... PG&E’s collapse has exposed the California Public Utilities Commission’s failure to hold the utility accountable on safety. The CPUC for years focused attention elsewhere, on setting rates and pushing for cleaner power. Now, the agency tasked with regulating utility safety is struggling to refocus on the issue while also grappling with its failure to prevent the state’s second electricity crisis in two decades. “The PUC is reactive,” says Janice Grau, a retired administrative law judge for the commission. Of the weather patterns that led to deadly power-line failures and blackouts, she says: “There wasn’t anyone at the PUC who...

No excerpt from Bloomberg allowed, story here.

... PG&E is in a difficult spot. The last thing the company wants is to ignite a fire that causes loss of life and property. Yet it is also aware that people rely on it for power, which is no mere convenience. With temperatures near or below freezing in some locations, failing to provide power for heat puts Californians at risk—particularly the elderly, the infirm and children. Businesses close, food spoils and drugs become unusable. What incentive would induce the company to choose correctly between bad alternatives and to invest in risk-reducing strategies like burying the power lines? A simple...