Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Fires and Blackouts Made in Sacramento
Wall Street Journal ^ | October 25, 2019 7:01 pm ET

Posted on 10/27/2019 4:26:12 AM PDT by karpov

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 company has warned of more blackouts this weekend and perhaps for the next decade as it refurbishes its aging grid.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is trying to deflect political blame. “It’s about dog-eat-dog capitalism meeting climate change. It’s about corporate greed meeting climate change. It’s about decades of mismanagement,” Mr. Newsom declared. But Democrats for years have treated PG&E as their de facto political subsidiary. The wildfires and blackouts are the direct result of their mismanagement.

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. Yet PG&E received no safety fines related to its power-grid management over the last several years. The commission has instead focused on enforcing the Legislature’s climate mandates.

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. PG&E has prioritized political obeisance over safety.

In 2018 PG&E spent $509 million on electric discounts for low-income customers in addition to $125 million for no-cost weatherization and efficiency upgrades for disadvantaged communities. Utilities also receive allowances from the state’s cap-and-trade program—$7.5 billion since 2012—to pay for other “ratepayer benefits” that reduce emissions.

For instance, the Legislature in 2015 mandated that utilities spend $100 million annually on solar systems in low-income communities. This is on top of the $2.2 billion in customer rebates for rooftop solar installations, which utilities charged to ratepayers

(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: blackouts; cablackout; california; climatechange; environment; gavinnewsom; globalwarming; globalwarminghoax; newsom; pge; puc; sacramento; wildfires
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-55 next last
To: karpov
"The company has warned of more blackouts this weekend and perhaps for the next decade..."
21 posted on 10/27/2019 6:02:39 AM PDT by moovova
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Oldeconomybuyer
My liberal daughter in Moraga is without power for the second time in three weeks.

Hmm, as I recall, Moraga is a rather upscale community. At least, I remember it that way from when we lived there when I was a teen. I would say that some poetic justice is going on here, but that would be mean. I do hope she is intelligent enough to recognize how liberal policies caused the situation. Most liberals have been so conditioned to leftism that stupid blame game excuses like Gavin Newsom is spewing make sense to them.

22 posted on 10/27/2019 6:03:34 AM PDT by exDemMom (Current visual of the hole the US continues to dig itself into: http://www.usdebtclock.org)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: bert

The entire state is flanked by water. Someone build desalination plants yesterday. Rail is just graft.


23 posted on 10/27/2019 6:06:12 AM PDT by combat_boots (TGod bless Israel and all who protect and defend her! Merry Christmas! In God We Trust! Hi)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: moovova

If that’s the case, the tech industry may be forced to leave California. Running off of generators for long periods of time is not a great idea for a lot of industries (emergency generators as installed at many facilities are not intended to be run for weeks or months at a time and will need maintenance - and by definition downtime) and I’m sure there’s probably some regulations against it in ‘green’ California.


24 posted on 10/27/2019 6:12:37 AM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: combat_boots

Well, in other places, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar with large supplies of natural gas, massive (the largest in the world) desalinization plants have been built to supply potable water.

California could easily develop the home grown gas by fracking existing oil fields. Being foolish, the people of California would rather burn than frack


25 posted on 10/27/2019 6:14:29 AM PDT by bert ( (KE. NP. N.C. +12) Progressives are existential American enemies)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: combat_boots

They’ve built a couple of them - but industrial desal plants don’t work well without electricity.


26 posted on 10/27/2019 6:15:04 AM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: arthurus
Our econuts insist the forest be allowed to accumulate tinder and undergrowth until it all goes up in lightning induced flames hot enough to burn the mature trees to ash and kill the forest animals and burn towns and kill people too.

Sounds like a plan.

Maybe it is; maybe it's just a consequence of the foolish beliefs of city people distant from the realities of nature. Or, a bit of both.

27 posted on 10/27/2019 6:19:17 AM PDT by Pearls Before Swine
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: karpov

This is not the result of Capitalism, it’s the result of Socialism. They tell us windmills are the answer and then when the wind blows they shut off the power.


28 posted on 10/27/2019 6:24:15 AM PDT by Texas Eagle (If it wasn't for double-standards, Liberals would be have no standards at all -- Texas Eagle)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Spktyr

Maybe they should have built them to run on tidal energy, being on the water and all...? /s


29 posted on 10/27/2019 6:36:47 AM PDT by Calvin Locke
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

https://wildfiretoday.com/2019/10/26/additional-evacuations-ordered-for-kincade-fire/

Note the hotspot grid:

https://i0.wp.com/wildfiretoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/KincadeFire_342amPDT_10-24.jpg?ssl=1


30 posted on 10/27/2019 6:41:33 AM PDT by Norski
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Calvin Locke

All sarcasm aside, tidal isn’t commercially viable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMRiKmgxrh0


31 posted on 10/27/2019 6:42:08 AM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: ProtectOurFreedom

If only they had just defied the government, been reviled by the mainstream press and the type of citizenry California generally (which is what brought all this about) then those people who stood up to the government would have been incarcerated (Californians would have patted themselves on the back over that) and someone who would make the same.moves as were made would have been put in charge.

California would still be today where it is today.

Your not going to ever be able to sell some cock and bull story about some rogue executives at the power company having created California’s mess.

Too many of us on this forum used to live out there.


32 posted on 10/27/2019 6:50:11 AM PDT by MrEdd (Caveat Emptors)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Oldeconomybuyer

Hubby says she probably views it as a badge of honor and thinks the rest of the country should live as she does.


33 posted on 10/27/2019 6:51:05 AM PDT by FamiliarFace
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: Oldeconomybuyer

Do you know her thoughts on the root cause of PGE?


34 posted on 10/27/2019 7:01:36 AM PDT by fatez (Ya, well, you know, that's just your opinion man...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: Spktyr
...tidal isn’t commercially viable.

Since when is that an impediment to politicians, at any level of government?

35 posted on 10/27/2019 7:10:46 AM PDT by Calvin Locke
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: BobL
In 2018 PG&E spent $509 million on electric discounts for low-income customers in addition to $125 million for no-cost weatherization and efficiency upgrades for disadvantaged communities. Utilities also receive allowances from the state’s cap-and-trade program—$7.5 billion since 2012—to pay for other “ratepayer benefits” that reduce emissions. For instance, the Legislature in 2015 mandated that utilities spend $100 million annually on solar systems in low-income communities. This is on top of the $2.2 billion in customer rebates for rooftop solar installations, which utilities charged to ratepayers between 2007 and 2016. Under the state’s net-metering program, solar customers also get a break on their bills.

And the list goes on and on...

Mandated $100 million annually on solar systems in low-income communities.
An easy fun target that sparks!

36 posted on 10/27/2019 7:16:52 AM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: Elsie
Is IT in danger of going up in smoke?

If you don’t take them off the batteries correctly, in the right order, they will spark if they touch ground. . . and have the very real potential of igniting a brush fire. I’ve seen it happen.

37 posted on 10/27/2019 7:49:55 AM PDT by Swordmaker (My pistol self-identifies as an iPad, so you must accept it in gun-free zones, you hoplaphobe bigot!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: karpov

“”PG&E disclosed Thursday that it had discovered a broken jumper cable by the ignition site of a wildfire blazing across Sonoma County.””

Why no mention in the article of the significance of the broken jumper cable? Someone must have figured it had a role in the fire or why mention it? Someone could have found a coke bottle nearby - would that have been mentioned?


38 posted on 10/27/2019 7:53:30 AM PDT by Thank You Rush
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MrEdd

“ Your not going to ever be able to sell some cock and bull story about some rogue executives at the power company having created California’s mess.”

Your reading comprehension is terrible. I said there were NO execs in the utilities fighting the green onslaught. There were no “rogue execs.” They all dutifully fell in line with what the regulators told them to do.

Good technical execs would have argued that the socialist cockamamie ideas would lead to disaster, but they didn’t. Too many energy execs are lawyers, not technologists who rose through the ranks.


39 posted on 10/27/2019 7:54:16 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: karpov

I think this charade is just a dress rehearsal for blackouts in the name of AGW. They want to make it like Venezuela or North Korea where the power might come on for an hour or so each day. For the proles it will probably happen while they are standing in line to get a crust of bread.


40 posted on 10/27/2019 8:10:21 AM PDT by beef (Caution: Potential Sarcasm - Process Accordingly)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-55 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson