Re:PG&E to intentionally shut off power again – this time to...
by danans on Wednesday November 20, 2019 @03:44PM
(#21588287)
> Maybe it's time to shrink PG&E down to a manageable size?
You mean shrinking the service area?
If so, some other entity will have to take over distribution in the areas removed from PG&E. It's not like those areas are going to go off-grid.
If those entities are locally owned and controlled (i.e. municipal power, as some CA cities have) it might make those more incentivized to proactively deal with maintenance issues - after all - people don't generally want to endanger their neighbors. But if it's just a slightly smaller investor-owned utility, it's not clear that they'll be incentivized any differently than PG&E is.
And remember that PG&E's size is part of what enabled it to achieve economies of scale, which in turn results in higher profits and dividends for investors.
Finally, even if you shrink PG&E, you still have the problem of maintaining transmission lines, which have been responsible for starting a number of fires. Some entity has to be responsible for maintaining those.
You mean shrinking the service area?
If so, some other entity will have to take over distribution in the areas removed from PG&E. It's not like those areas are going to go off-grid.
If those entities are locally owned and controlled (i.e. municipal power, as some CA cities have) it might make those more incentivized to proactively deal with maintenance issues - after all - people don't generally want to endanger their neighbors. But if it's just a slightly smaller investor-owned utility, it's not clear that they'll be incentivized any differently than PG&E is.
And remember that PG&E's size is part of what enabled it to achieve economies of scale, which in turn results in higher profits and dividends for investors.
Finally, even if you shrink PG&E, you still have the problem of maintaining transmission lines, which have been responsible for starting a number of fires. Some entity has to be responsible for maintaining those.