PG&E needed to replace a pole (one!) in my neighborhood recently. Watching it all happen got me thinking about the El Camino Real project (aka the Little Big Dig coming next year). We all got multiple notices about the new pole by mail and phone indicating a 30-minute planned outage on the morning of the work and another outage near the end of the day. A crew of about 15 guys rolled in with at least eight vehicles and two trailer-mounted generators. After they de-energized a section around the pole and disconnected it, the two generators kicked on to keep the lights on for the neighborhood.
The job took the whole day with all 15 or so guys here all day. A long rig delivered the new pole and the guy in the bucket truck started disassembling the power, phone, and cable wires. All I could think of was what a massive task it will be to move miles of the El Camino wiring underground–and how many longer outages will occur. As with the loss of 90% of the eucalyptus trees, I doubt many people have any idea what is coming. It also made me glad to have a gas stove, heat and outdoor grill. Having dual power sources has been smart forever and not likely to change anytime soon.
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