Herein lies the ultimate problem with EVs as they increase their share of the transportation base, how to charge them! Here in California with the confluence of too many people, and a nutcake RAT government, having enough generating capacity to “fuel” our growing EV “fleet” is a burgeoning problem. So the State is playing with a two-edged sword. 1.) The don’t have and don’t want to build the electrical generating capacity to be able to service EVs, But 2.) the continue to encourage people here to buy them to “save the environment!” I guess solar installations may be at least a partial solution. Our son has used a Nissan Leaf EV for a couple of years as a commute vehicle. He coupled that decision with one to install solar on his home. It works. He just got rid of the Leaf and replaced it with a Chevrolet Bolt. I know everyone pisses and moans about GM here, but he tells me that in every respect, the Bolt is way superior to the Leaf. For one thing, the Bolt will go 300 miles on a charge, about twice that of the Leaf. Looking for a “plug” when you are away from home and about out of juice can be stressful. It’s not like looking for a service station.
In the final analysis, the whole thing is about energy. Also, here, in NorCal PG&E is filing for bankruptcy as a consequence of the devastating fires. You can bet that the State is going to act to preserve them, with the “route to preservation” being hiking utility rates.
The entire concept of the law of unintended consequences is lost on the Left particularly the Ruling Class Left.
The Left delights in ridiculing and demonizing industry particularly utility companies.
“The electric company is so cruel turning off the power of people that don’t pay their bills!”. “People have to choose between food and electricity”.
Yes, it is true, the electric company does turn people’s power off if they don’t pay their bill. The electric company has bills to pay as well. If the electric company isn’t payed for their product they can’t pay their creditors and go they go bankrupt.
But this is lost on Leftist states like California. California like other states regulates what PG&E can charge for electricity. Lost on California is the fact that PG&E will try to cut cost so that they can still make a reasonable profit so that their investors don’t sell their stock and lower its market value.
One of the first things to go for an electric utility hurting for cash is tree trimming and right of way maintenance (the land under high tension lines). The consequences of this is that trees grow under the transmission lines. What happens then? Fires.
Trees eventually get tall enough that they will contact transmission lines and those lines will short to ground through a tree setting it ablaze.
Forest fires and burned homes are the result.
If the state won’t permit the electric company charge the consumer enough money to do proper maintenance and still make a profit the company will cut back on maintenance. It is a simple fact of economics. The company will do what is necessary to survive for as long as possible. They will gamble that nothing bad will happen.
The same equally applies to PG&E’s gas lines.
Leftist pandering to popular feelings of animosity to power companies are really to blame for the fires in California.
The ultimate goal is for California to take over PG&E.
i think the state is fine with the shortage of fuel. They don’t want people freely traveling around anyway, out of their sectors. Too hard to control them when they are all over the place. That was a UN initiative back in the 90s; Agenda 21 I think.