Continuing my fascination with all things electricity-related, PG&E's announcement that they will substitute quick, tenth-of-second shut-offs when changes in flow occur. From today's WSJ:
The California utility company PG&E spent about $2.5 billion on a yearslong effort aimed at reducing wildfire risk by cutting or clearing more than a million trees growing alongside power lines. It now says that work was largely ineffective and is eliminating the program, according to an internal analysis reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and interviews with utility executives. The strategy shift marks a calculated risk by the utility that new power-line settings will be more effective than the tree-trimming program that was put in place after a series of devastating wildfires. The program, which the company called “enhanced vegetation management,” was meant to supplement routine tree-trimming work required by regulators. PG&E saw a 68% reduction in ignitions on lines that shut off on contact in 2022, the first year the settings were fully deployed.
Let's hope Hillsborough gets the shut-off capability early, but I'm still not seeing the wisdom or economics of the "bury everything" strategy:
PG&E says the new approach will be both safer and less expensive as it works to permanently reduce wildfire risk by burying 10,000 miles of power lines in the coming years, an ambitious plan expected to cost at least $20 billion. The company is challenged in its ability to raise capital following a complex bankruptcy restructuring and has been working to cut costs in order to fund the work.
What this means for our rates cannot be good. Aside from screwing higher-income customers and the steady rate increases already announced, digging 10,000 miles of trench, burying lines and removing towers has a lot of hidden complexity. Ask me how I know.
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