Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Trump Sues Wall Street Journal Over Epstein Report, Seeks $10 Billion

2 days ago

Clovis Unified Mourns Passing of Former Superintendent Terry Bradley

2 days ago

Clovis At-Risk Missing Person Found Dead in Fresno Canal

2 days ago

DOJ Asks California Sheriffs for Names of Inmates Who Aren’t Citizens

2 days ago

Israel Agrees to Allow Syrian Troops Limited Access to Sweida

2 days ago

Border Patrol Agents Raid a Home Depot in Northern California

2 days ago

Man Admits to Killing Missing Bass Lake Resident, Madera County Authorities Say

3 days ago

Trump Diagnosed With Vein Condition Causing Leg Swelling, White House Says

3 days ago

US Seeks One-Day Sentence for Police Officer Convicted in Breonna Taylor Case

3 days ago

Manhattan Prosecutor Who Handled Epstein Cases Is Fired

3 days ago
State Regulators Launch Investigation into Power Outages
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
November 13, 2019

Share

SAN FRANCISCO — California regulators opened a formal investigation Wednesday into preemptive power outages that blacked out large parts of the state in October, drawing strong rebukes from public officials and residents who said the shut-offs were too broad and poorly executed.

“Many Californians are debating whether California is still safe. Is this a safe place to live?” — Will Abrams of Santa Rosa, whose house burned down in 2017 in wildfires that roared through Northern California wine country
The unanimous vote by the California Public Utilities Commission followed testimony from a handful of people who pleaded with the panel for leadership at a time of increased danger from fire and other natural disasters.
“Many Californians are debating whether California is still safe. Is this a safe place to live?” said Will Abrams of Santa Rosa, whose house burned down in 2017 in wildfires that roared through Northern California wine country.
The state’s largest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric Co., initiated multiple rounds of shut-offs and plunged nearly 2.5 million people into darkness at one point throughout Northern and Central California. Some of the outages lasted for several days.
PG&E officials insisted on the shut-offs for public safety, but infuriated residents and a parade of public officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said cutting off power should be a last resort and that the company regularly botched communications.
Photo of California Public Utilities Commissioner Cliff Rechtschaffen
California Public Utilities Commissioner Cliff Rechtschaffen speaks at a CPUC meeting in San Francisco, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019. California regulators will vote Wednesday on whether to open an investigation into pre-emptive power outages that blacked out large parts of the state for much of October as strong winds sparked fears of wildfires.(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

The Outages Raised Concerns

Nevada City Mayor Reinette Senum said Wednesday that her rural community had no working phones or internet. She wants local control over the power grid, which she said could take better care than PG&E, which is a for-profit utility.
“Basically, we were sent back into the dark ages,” she said.
Southern California Edison Co. and San Diego Gas & Electric Co. are also for-profit utilities that shut off power, but to far fewer people.
The outages raised concerns about whether the utilities “properly balanced the need to provide reliable service with public safety,” said the order authorizing the investigation.
Commission President Marybel Batjer requested the broad investigation, saying that widespread outages “cannot be the new normal for California.” Commissioners said Wednesday that they want to know what can be done to improve shut-offs or reduce their scope in the future.
Batjer also signed an order Tuesday directing PG&E to show why it should not be fined for other violations related to the shutdowns. Each violation of state requirements involving power shutdowns could carry a $100,000 penalty.
Bill Johnson, the chief executive of PG&E, has said the outages kept people safe, although a transmission line in Sonoma County that was not powered off malfunctioned minutes before a wildfire erupted Oct. 23, forcing about 180,000 people to evacuate.

Commissioners Have Been Stewing Over the Outages

Utility spokesman Ari Vanrenen said again Wednesday that the shut-offs were the right call. He said the company continues to improve and has “made every effort” to implement the commission’s requirements when it cuts power.
Abrams not only lost his home in the 2017 wildfires, but his children had to endure smoke from a deadly 2018 wildfire in Paradise. Last month, the family evacuated from another Sonoma County wildfire. They were terrified to cross into the San Francisco Bay Area amid smaller grassland fires sparked by PG&E lines falling during high, hot winds, he said.
“The wonderful thing about regulators is you can cut through the rhetoric,” he said.
Commissioners have been stewing over the outages.
Last month, they grilled PG&E officials at an emergency meeting called by Batjer, demanding answers for why the utility was so unprepared for an Oct. 9 shutdown in which counties and customers struggled with a crashing website and overworked call lines to get information.
When many cellphone towers were down and internet services out, the utility told people to get information from a website, through relatives or by calling on a landline.

Photo of the Maria Fire
FILE – In this Oct. 31, 2019, file photo, smoke from the Maria Fire billows above Santa Paula, Calif. California regulators are voting Wednesday, Nov. 13, on whether to open an investigation into pre-emptive power outages that blacked out large parts of the state for much of October as strong winds sparked fears of wildfires. The state’s largest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric Co., initiated multiple rounds of shut-offs that plunged nearly 2.5 million people into darkness throughout northern and central California. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

The Company Is in Bankruptcy and Faces $30 Billion in Liabilities

The outages were astonishing for a state that is one of the world’s economic powerhouses. People made frantic dashes for cash and gas as businesses watched their goods spoil. Some elderly and disabled people were trapped in their apartments with elevators out of service.

If PG&E doesn’t make changes, Newsom is threatening to try to turn the utility into a customer-owned cooperative run by the state and local governments. The company so far has defended its proposal as a fair deal for all parties involved in its bankruptcy.
PG&E initiated five rounds or shut-offs, with the smallest affecting about 30,000 people and the largest affecting nearly 2.5 million. Residents in San Francisco suburbs and in Northern California wine country were without power for days.
The company is in bankruptcy and faces $30 billion in liabilities after its equipment was found to have started several deadly wildfires in 2017 and 2018, including the Camp Fire that killed 85 in Butte County.
In September, PG&E reached an $11 billion settlement with most of the insurers covering victims of deadly wildfires, but Newsom is stepping up pressure on PG&E to fork over billions more.
If PG&E doesn’t make changes, Newsom is threatening to try to turn the utility into a customer-owned cooperative run by the state and local governments. The company so far has defended its proposal as a fair deal for all parties involved in its bankruptcy.
Southern California Edison also initiated five preventive outages but to far fewer customers. The company has announced that its equipment likely caused last year’s Woolsey Fire, which killed three people and destroyed hundreds of homes in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Deadly Assault in Kingsburg

DON'T MISS

Peach the Prancing Pup Could Be Fresno’s Next Ninja Warrior

DON'T MISS

At Least 32 Killed by Israeli Fire While Seeking Aid in Gaza, Hospital Says

DON'T MISS

At Least 30 Injured When Car Hits Crowd Outside Los Angeles Club, Fire Department Says

DON'T MISS

Merced Man Drowns While Kayak Fishing at Courtright Reservoir

DON'T MISS

Syrian Forces Struggle to Implement Ceasefire in Druze Region

DON'T MISS

California Medical School Welcomes Record Class of Fresno State Graduates

DON'T MISS

New CA Budget Papers Over $20 Billion Deficit, Ignores Day of Reckoning

DON'T MISS

Astronomer CEO, HR Chief on Leave After Coldplay ‘Kiss Cam’ Sparks Scandal

DON'T MISS

Sanger Man Arrested in Child Exploitation Investigation

UP NEXT

Blast at Los Angeles Sheriff’s Facility Leaves Three Dead, Media Reports

UP NEXT

DOJ Asks California Sheriffs for Names of Inmates Who Aren’t Citizens

UP NEXT

Newsom Wants California to Counter Texas on Redistricting

UP NEXT

Border Patrol Agents Raid a Home Depot in Northern California

UP NEXT

Behind the Masks: Who Are the People Rounding Up Immigrants in California?

UP NEXT

Homeowners With Solar Rise Up to Defang Bill Authored by Former Utility Executive

UP NEXT

Trump Diagnosed With Vein Condition Causing Leg Swelling, White House Says

UP NEXT

Connie Francis, Whose Ballads Dominated ’60s Pop Music, Dies at 87

UP NEXT

US Attorney General Bondi Visits Alcatraz After Trump Call to Reopen Notorious Prison

UP NEXT

US Transport Chief on California High-Speed Rail: ‘We Have to Pull the Plug’

Israeli Fire Kills 67 People Seeking Aid in Gaza, Medics Say, as Hunger Worsens

2 hours ago

Fresno’s Measure C Panel Prioritizes Roads After Ousting City Rep for Criticism

6 hours ago

California Is Finally Adopting Phonics, Fulfilling a Grandmother’s Dream

7 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Deadly Assault in Kingsburg

20 hours ago

Peach the Prancing Pup Could Be Fresno’s Next Ninja Warrior

1 day ago

At Least 32 Killed by Israeli Fire While Seeking Aid in Gaza, Hospital Says

1 day ago

At Least 30 Injured When Car Hits Crowd Outside Los Angeles Club, Fire Department Says

1 day ago

Merced Man Drowns While Kayak Fishing at Courtright Reservoir

1 day ago

Syrian Forces Struggle to Implement Ceasefire in Druze Region

1 day ago

California Medical School Welcomes Record Class of Fresno State Graduates

1 day ago

Trump Says He Will Help Afghans Stuck in the UAE

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would help Afghans detained in the United Arab Emirates for years after fleeing ...

2 hours ago

President Donald Trump speaks at a dinner with Republican Senators, in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 18, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Trump Says He Will Help Afghans Stuck in the UAE

Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
2 hours ago

Pope Leo Calls for End to ‘Barbarity of War’ After Strike on Gaza Church

American lawyer Alan Dershowitz returns to the courtroom for the criminal trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump after a short break at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, U.S., 20 May 2024. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Ex-Epstein Lawyer Calls for Release of Additional Epstein Materials

Palestinians gather as they carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel, amid a hunger crisis, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
2 hours ago

Israeli Fire Kills 67 People Seeking Aid in Gaza, Medics Say, as Hunger Worsens

Sign Promoting Completion of Measure C Project at McKinley and Clovis Avenues near the Airport
6 hours ago

Fresno’s Measure C Panel Prioritizes Roads After Ousting City Rep for Criticism

Oakland Students Learning to Read
7 hours ago

California Is Finally Adopting Phonics, Fulfilling a Grandmother’s Dream

20 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Deadly Assault in Kingsburg

Peach, a 2-year-old chihuahua in Fresno, is capturing hearts with her sweet personality, love for play, and unexpected fence-climbing talents that hint at a future in canine stardom. (Mell's Mutts)
1 day ago

Peach the Prancing Pup Could Be Fresno’s Next Ninja Warrior

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend