Scott Wiener must be a glutton for punishment. Just last week, the Democratic state senator from San Francisco failed, after repeated attempts and many revisions, to win Senate approval of his ambitious bill to force local communities to accept more multi-family housing. Four days later, Wiener took on another, equally...
California Could Make Utilities Pay for Some Blackout Costs
SACRAMENTO — Californians left in the dark by electric companies that shut off their power to prevent wildfires could get paid for things like lost wages or spoiled food under a bill being considered in the state Legislature. In a state plagued by catastrophic blazes started by strong winds knocking...
Walters: What Now for PG&E?
Gov. Gavin Newsom says he wants Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to become a “radically restructured and transformed utility that is responsible and accountable…” But how? Newsom, in rejecting the company’s plan to emerge from bankruptcy late last week, once again denounced it for “more than two decades of mismanagement,...
PG&E Begins New Mass Power Shutoff Over Fire Danger
SAN FRANCISCO — Pacific Gas & Electric Co. was set to begin shutting off power Wednesday to some 375,000 people in 18 Northern and central California counties as the region faces extreme fire weather that’s lasted since October. A virtually rainless fall has left brush bone-dry and forecasts called for...
State Regulators Launch Investigation into Power Outages
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. The unanimous vote by the California Public Utilities...
Regulators to Open Inquiry Into PG&E Outages
SAN FRANCISCO — 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. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. initiated multiple rounds of shut-offs and plunged nearly...
Do California Power Shutoffs Work? Hard to Know, Experts Say
SAN FRANCISCO — Millions of Californians spent part of the week in the dark in an unprecedented effort by the state's large electrical utilities to prevent another devastating wildfire. It was the fifth time Pacific Gas & Electric Co. has preemptively cut the power but by far the largest to...
As Hedge Funds Fight for Control of PG&E, Here Is How Workers See It
As the elected leader of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245, which represents approximately 12,000 frontline utility workers at Pacific Gas & Electric Co., I have paid careful attention both to legislative activity in Sacramento and to PG&E’s bankruptcy proceeding. Our members work around the clock to deliver...
PG&E: Judge’s Proposals for Fire Risk Could Cost up to $150B
SAN FRANCISCO — Proposals by a U.S. judge to prevent Pacific Gas & Electric Co. equipment from causing more wildfires would endanger lives, could cost as much as $150 billion and would interfere with the work of federal and state regulators, the utility said Wednesday in a court filing urging...
Judge Proposes Ordering PG&E to Shut Off Power for Wildfires
SAN FRANCISCO — To prevent wildfires, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. should re-inspect its entire electric grid and cut off power during certain wind conditions regardless of the inconvenience to customers or loss of profit, a U.S. judge proposed Wednesday. Judge William Alsup said in a court order his goal...