PG&E will shut off power for 48 hr w/a 8 hr warning in a huge swathe of the bay, incl Oakland & Berk - Politics Forum.org | PoFo

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#15040592
This is just crazy. This is America, we don't lose power for 48 hours. We *are* the "greatest, richest nation the world has ever known". [Just ask us.]

PG&E will shut off power for 48 hours with a 8 hour warning in a huge swathe of the bay, including all of Berkeley and Oakland.

https://abc7news.com/society/list-areas ... a/5603558/

Any thoughts to add to mine.
#15040623
It's time to break up PG&E. This is what monopoly power leads to in the 21st Century. It simply shouldn't be tolerated.

I'm headed to The Who concert tomorrow night. It better not affect that. They're almost dead as it is.

It's gotten me thinking seriously about extending my solar and adding a battery backup. With my solar, I sell excess power to the grid and my power can be shut down even though I have panels generating electricity. With battery storage, that wouldn't be the case. I could run on battery power until the electricity runs out.

Unfortunately, California voters are complete fucking retards. So I don't see much chance of improvement around here. They're cool with people shitting in the streets, distributing needles to drug addicts, providing healthcare to illegal aliens, and so forth. So allowing the utilities to shut of power, because of a forecast of 35 mph winds is just par for the course. They probably think that's a good idea.
#15040704
blackjack21 wrote:I'm headed to The Who concert tomorrow night. It better not affect that. They're almost dead as it is.


Well, they're halfway there...

Unfortunately, California voters are complete fucking retards. So I don't see much chance of improvement around here. They're cool with people shitting in the streets, distributing needles to drug addicts, providing healthcare to illegal aliens, and so forth. So allowing the utilities to shut of power, because of a forecast of 35 mph winds is just par for the course. They probably think that's a good idea.


I lived in San Diego for 30 years. It was a great place to live, weather-wise, but that was about it. Real estate prices were stupid. I bought a 1,700 square foot house in Santee (aka "Santucky"), just east of San Diego for $199,000 in 1999. I sold it for $330,000 when I moved to Portland, Oregon at the end of 2012. I bought my home just outside St. Augustine, Florida in 2014 for $170,000, and it's 3,300 square feet.

I'm glad I left California when I did. I've never looked back...
#15040762
Rancid wrote:I was looking at the local news here. It seems like San Jose will not be affected, at least as of this moment.

Sidenote:
I don't see the appeal of living in the bay area. I don't see it at all.


I love San Francisco, but I don't know that I'd want to live there. The traffic's insane pretty much any time the sun is up.

The best Chinese food I've ever had was in San Francisco; House of Nanking in Chinatown.

You're welcome.

I have a buddy who lives in Lafayette. That's not too bad. The Walnut Creek and Danville areas are nice, too...
#15041059
ness31 wrote:So the shut down is for the weather, right? It must be pretty severe weather, right? 48 hours is a solid block to be powerless..

It's to prevent forest fires. PG&E managed to fry about 80 of their customers in a small town called 'Paradise' a year or two back. The wildfires which destroyed that town were started by some substandard PG&E equipment. They've effectively been ordered to shut down their grid if the winds get too high, to prevent sparks from starting wildfires.
#15041067
blackjack21 wrote:It's time to break up PG&E. This is what monopoly power leads to in the 21st Century. It simply shouldn't be tolerated.

I'm headed to The Who concert tomorrow night. It better not affect that. They're almost dead as it is.

It's gotten me thinking seriously about extending my solar and adding a battery backup. With my solar, I sell excess power to the grid and my power can be shut down even though I have panels generating electricity. With battery storage, that wouldn't be the case. I could run on battery power until the electricity runs out.

Unfortunately, California voters are complete fucking retards. So I don't see much chance of improvement around here. They're cool with people shitting in the streets, distributing needles to drug addicts, providing healthcare to illegal aliens, and so forth. So allowing the utilities to shut of power, because of a forecast of 35 mph winds is just par for the course. They probably think that's a good idea.


Maybe they won't get fooled again? :)

Seriously though, let's deconstruct this:

1. Where's the proof that privatizing rnergy is a good idea? I present you the UK as a case study against it..
2. Distributing needles to addicts reduces disease, blood poisining etc.
3. Providing healthcare to 'illegal aliens' might be cheaper than the cost of letting infections/disease spread (stuff like TB) and might actually save money.
4. The shutting off of power will probably save more money/lives than it costs. What would you suggest, leave it on?
#15041072
ness31 wrote:So they’re shutting off the power due to weather?

To wind and dry conditions--not uncommon at this time of year in California. However, shutting off power is unprecedented.

Rancid wrote:I don't see the appeal of living in the bay area. I don't see it at all.

Mild weather. Also it's the heart of the high tech business. If you're not in that, you probably wouldn't see the point. It's just ridiculously expensive.

BigSteve wrote:The traffic's insane pretty much any time the sun is up.

Yes. Especially when the economy is booming.

BigSteve wrote:I have a buddy who lives in Lafayette. That's not too bad. The Walnut Creek and Danville areas are nice, too...

Yes. I grew up in Walnut Creek. All those areas are getting hit with power outages, because the residential power uses poles rather than buried lines.

ness31 wrote:So the shut down is for the weather, right? It must be pretty severe weather, right? 48 hours is a solid block to be powerless..

No. It's not severe at all. Winds at 35 mph.

Rancid wrote:It is very windy today, so I'm guessing that's the reason they are doing this.

Yes. That's exactly it.

Potemkin wrote:PG&E managed to fry about 80 of their customers in a small town called 'Paradise' a year or two back.

They had been warned about the source of the fire before, too. The problem with PG&E is that it's unionized, so it's very expensive for them to do anything. They subcontract a lot to save costs.

Potemkin wrote: They've effectively been ordered to shut down their grid if the winds get too high, to prevent sparks from starting wildfires.

Yeah, and with the Democrats wanting to provide healthcare to illegal aliens, not one of them thinks about the benefits of modernizing the power grid.

Beren wrote:It will be unplugged perhaps.

Won't Get Fooled Again was. Roger doesn't have the high range anymore.
#15041077
Presvias wrote:Maybe they won't get fooled again? :)

Seriously though, let's deconstruct this:

1. Where's the proof that privatizing rnergy is a good idea? I present you the UK as a case study against it..
2. Distributing needles to addicts reduces disease, blood poisining etc.
3. Providing healthcare to 'illegal aliens' might be cheaper than the cost of letting infections/disease spread (stuff like TB) and might actually save money.
4. The shutting off of power will probably save more money/lives than it costs. What would you suggest, leave it on?


1. Most utilities in the US are privately-owned monopolies.
2. It also facilitates drug use rather than using funds to treat addiction.
3. Deporting illegal aliens is cheaper.
4. Unlikely. Electric power is the foundation of modern domestic amenities, like refrigeration. I suggest they leave it on and upgrade the power grid.

By the way, I forgot to post:

PG&E Truck Struck By Bullet While Driving On I-5 Tuesday Night
PG&E Plunges Most Since Chapter 11 Filing After Losing Bankruptcy Exclusivity
#15041083
blackjack21 wrote:1. Most utilities in the US are privately-owned monopolies.


But not the one you're talking about....

2. It also facilitates drug use rather than using funds to treat addiction.


You could do both? The best results re reduction of drug use are found in countries like Portugal.

3. Deporting illegal aliens is cheaper.

Is it? Isn't it very expensive to deport illegals, plus they contribute more than natives..

4. Unlikely. Electric power is the foundation of modern domestic amenities, like refrigeration. I suggest they leave it on and upgrade the power grid.

It's cheaper than the $1 BN fine isn't it?

And I agree that upgrading the grid is the main thing they could do - but we are talking about thungs as they stand..
#15041136
blackjack21 wrote:Mild weather. Also it's the heart of the high tech business. If you're not in that, you probably wouldn't see the point. It's just ridiculously expensive.


I'm an engineer, I work in tech. ;) Hence, why I travel here often.

there are engineers here, who have to work as uber drivers because the rent is too high.
#15041139
@ Everyone,
To me, clearly the problem here is that the Neo-liberal economic consensus has fooled the people into not wanting the US Gov. to deficit spend.
If the Gov. deficit spent a lot more it could do things like upgrade the nation's infrastructure. Things like the national power grid. And bridges, clean water systems, sewer water systems, etc.

MMT has proven that deficit spending doesn't cost the taxpayers anything now or later. The 'now' part is proven by Japan which has run up a national debt of 240% (yes, 240%) of the GDP over 25+ years. And no inflation or high interest rates either.
The 'later' claim is proven by the fact that the UK/England has had a national debt all during every year since 1694 (yes 1694), that is over 425 years now. It has been reduced as a percentage of the GDP, but not by paying it down. Instead the GDP has grown because of pop. growth, economic growth, and inflation. I say that 425 years is close enough to 'forever' that we can assume that the US debt can be rolled over until the US ceases to exist. And rolling it over is done by borrowing the interest paid to the old bond holders from the new bond holders. [Or, the Gov. can stop selling bonds and just spend new dollars when it deficit spends.]

But, the mass of the people can't grok those proofs because they learned neo-liberal economics in college and since they paid for that knowledge it must be TRUE. Or, if they missed it in college they listen to the media that is totally sold on Neo-liberalism.
So of course, most of the readers here will deny my proofs or just ignore them.
Like when one refused to grok that it was *proven* that banks don't loan the depositors money, that mostly they create new money out of thin air. Even when they were shown 2 places that the BoE and some other reliable source said it was true, this guy here refused to believe it.

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