patrick.net

You could ride your bicycle or skateboard against a PG & E powermast and singlehandedly bring it down. For too long they abused their monopoly and only cared about their profits instead of improving their technology and making investments into infrastructure.

I can't speak for PG&E because I live in Edison territory.

Another thing I didn't get to in the above post. ALL of these people declaring the electrical utility at fault and in need of takeover, when there is NO information about the start of these specific fires. The Ventura fire happened in a recent burn zone, so ALL of the poles are less than a decade old and up to recent standards. I spend a lot of time in the mountains and I can see the poles are well maintained and brush cleared from around their bases. One recent smaller fire in the Malibu area was sparked by a power pole, after A CAR HIT IT. Another years ago started near Sylmar after a large bird spread its wings across two wires and fell to the ground in flames. Edison is reporting a trip event in the area where one of the fires started and everyone is assigning blame. However, a fire near power lines sends aloft ionized particles that are highly conductive and can CAUSE an arc between perfectly designed and maintained wires.

Underground all utilities everywhere? THAT is considered actionable advice? Anyone proposing this, have you actually LOOKED at the terrain power lines cross in mountainous areas? It's painful having to listen to advice and solutions from people who know jack fucking shit about the topic. Asimov had a great quote about one of the failures of implementing democracy is the pervasive belief that it means "my ignorance is the equal of your knowledge."

Automan Empire says

I can't speak for PG&E because I live in Edison territory.

Another thing I didn't get to in the above post. ALL of these people declaring the electrical utility at fault and in need of takeover, when there is NO information about the start of these specific fires. The Ventura fire happened in a recent burn zone, so ALL of the poles are less than a decade old and up to recent standards. I spend a lot of time in the mountains and I can see the poles are well maintained and brush cleared from around their bases. One recent smaller fire in the Malibu area was sparked by a power pole, after A CAR HIT IT. Another years ago started near Sylmar after a large bird spread its wings across two wires and fell to the ground in flames. Edison is reporting a trip event in the area where one of the fires started and everyone is assigning blame. However, a fire near power lines sends aloft ionized particles that are highly conductive and can CAUSE an arc between perfectly designed an...

Mountainous and earthquaky terrain is no problem for underground lines in many European countries, some more active than CA such as Italy. Power-lines above ground are dangerous in many ways, but causing fires is the biggest issue.

Automan Empire says

I can't speak for PG&E because I live in Edison territory....

... there is NO information about the start of these specific fires.

Except there is: SFGate reported that one lady in Paradise area was contacted by PG&E on a day the fire started requesting access to her property because of reports of power lines sparking against tree limbs.

PS. Fires in the North and the South of CA are two different beasts and need not be mixed together. The terrain is different, the cause is probably different and conditions are also different.

On PG&E:

"The utility was responsible for several of last year’s wildfires that burned through Northern California’s wine country. In fact, Cal Fire has determined that of the 21 major fires last fall in Northern California, at least 17 were caused by power lines, poles and other equipment owned by Pacific Gas and Electric Company."

On logging as a "solution":

Some researchers said that logging in the burned area after a fire in 2008, which was intended to clear out fuels and make this part of Northern California safer, may have had the opposite result. The logging may have left fast-burning weeds and young trees in the fire’s path.

“When it got to the logged area, it spread very rapidly and people just didn’t have much time to evacuate in Paradise, so this whole notion that logging — so-called hazardous fuels reduction — was going to save the town is a dangerous falsehood,” said Chad Hanson, a fire ecologist at the John Muir Project

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/15/us/camp-fire-paradise-cause.html

Automan Empire says

Pretty nifty trick of the Oligarchs, getting large numbers of Americans pumped up about handing logging rights on public lands to private individuals

I doubt modern Oligarchs are THAT interested in logging in CA. There are plenty of much more lucrative fields than "selective logging in the mountains".

Eric Holder says

There are plenty of much more lucrative fields than "selective logging in the mountains".

Selective logging can't compete with clear cut logging. Make no mistake, clear cutting is the end goal, not "better forest management." Oligarchs are very happy to send whole logs to China then ship back finished lumber products. My point is, they have people up in arms clamoring for change, but the ACTUAL CHANGES won't be the ones the useful idiots are clamoring for.

Automan Empire says

Oligarchs are very happy to send whole logs to China then ship back finished lumber products.

Again, doesn't make much sense to me since Chinese now have practically unlimited access to Russian Taiga where they can clear-cut whatever their hearts desire after bribing the local authorities.

I expect the Maibu residing Hollywood powers that be will relent and agree to that remake of the Green Berets starring Don, Jr., in order to get Trump to redirect the high energy weapon.

willywonka says

I expect the Maibu residing Hollywood powers that be will relent and agree to that remake of the Green Berets starring Don, Jr., in order to get Trump to redirect the high energy weapon.

Good one!! I can just picture Donald Trump at his new Weather Control Console dialing up the Santa Anna winds......

Has this affected homeowners insurance rates yet?
Or can you even still buy that in CA?

Booger says

Has this affected homeowners insurance rates yet?
Or can you even still buy that in CA?

Mine is up for renewal soon. The offers I've received so far indicate no price hike. I'm not living in a forest, though.

Booger says

Has this affected homeowners insurance rates yet?
Or can you even still buy that in CA?

Sure, but it varies from neighborhood to neighborhood. I imagine for high risk zones like the Malibu hills and San Gabriel mountain areas (La Crescenta/La Canada) it's gonna go up. For most areas nothing will change much.

I almost bought a place in La Crescenta about 8 years ago but the insurance alone (roughly $5k/year at the time) made me walk away. My current annual premium is like $1000/year, and hasn't changed for 5 years.

DASKAA says

Booger says

Has this affected homeowners insurance rates yet?
Or can you even still buy that in CA?

Mine is up for renewal soon. The offers I've received so far indicate no price hike. I'm not living in a forest, though.

It might be too soon.
I am expecting insurers to leave the market if this continues.

Looks like PCG closed last the year at $23.55/share

PG&E Corporation (PCG) $17.00/sh -1.95 (-10.26%)

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pg-e-bankruptcy-leave-power-010657028.html

A PG&E Bankruptcy Would Leave Utility in Turmoil for Years

PG&E plunged 22 percent Monday on news that it’s exploring a bankruptcy filing in response to an onslaught of wildfire liabilities that are estimated to be as high as $30 billion -- far exceeding the company’s market value of less than $10 billion. On Tuesday, the company fell as much as 17 percent after S&P Global Ratings downgraded the San Francisco-based company’s long-term credit rating to junk, and said the utility remains on a negative watch. The bonds hit all-time lows.

Obligatory reference to the other similiar thread:
/post/1310914/2017-10-10-fires-in-santa-rosa-and-napa

Anyone here manage to short this stock recently?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pg-e-bailout-hopes-crushed-163848465.html

PG&E Bailout Hopes Are Crushed With California Showing Little Interest

Now that PG&E Corp. has said it plans to file for bankruptcy, analysts are seeing little chance that California lawmakers will step in anytime soon with a bailout for the beleaguered power provider.

California’s largest utility, which faces potential liabilities of $30 billion or more from deadly wildfires, said it will file under Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code by Jan. 29, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday. Governor Gavin Newsom issued a statement signaling he’s willing to let PG&E proceed, saying that at the same time “the company should continue to honor promises made to energy suppliers and to our community.”

A bankruptcy reorganization would, in fact, allow PG&E to operate and keep the lights on. What’s more, it “diversifies the responsibility for what plays out,” said Kit Konolige, a senior analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. He said he didn’t believe there was much enthusiasm in Sacramento for an immediate rescue plan. “What politician is going to step up and say ‘I want to save PG&E?’ ’’

There are some, including Democratic Assemblyman Chris Holden, who in a statement called a bankruptcy “deeply concerning for the state.”

The pressure is unlikely to be off politicians to eventually act. Newsom covered that ground in his statement: “I will be working with the legislature and all stakeholders on a solution that ensures consumers have access to safe, affordable and reliable service, fire victims are treated fairly, and California can continue to make progress toward our climate goals.”

PG&E employs 20,000 and provides power to more than 15 million people. Its liabilities could grow from wildfires in 2017 and 2018; the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has blamed 17 of the 2017 blazes in part on company power lines and other equipment.

Its stock has tanked, and it has little left in the bank -- $1.5 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of Friday. PG&E has said it doesn’t intend to make an interest payment of about $21.6 million due Tuesday on 5.4 percent senior notes due in 2040.

“There isn’t a lot of time left. You’re talking six months until you actually get into a liquidity crunch,” said Guggenheim analyst Shahriar Pourreza.

Even if they wanted to, Newsom and legislators might simply be unable to do anything in time.

“The high degree of controversy and public outcry stemming from wildfire damages and perceived blame assigned to PG&E likely creates headwinds in the legislative process,” the research firm ClearView Energy Partners LLC said in a report Monday. “The 15-day notice offers a very short runway for lawmakers to act.”

PG&E on Sunday started searching for a new chief executive officer after Geisha Williams, 57, quit; General counsel John Simon will take the helm in the meantime.

Williams’s departure came after a catastrophic period for PG&E. Bonds that traded above face value about months ago now fetch around 85 cents on the dollar. The stock fell as much as 50 percent to $8.77 a share as of 11:10 a.m. in New York, its biggest intraday drop ever. Shares are down 82 percent since the Camp fire broke out Nov. 8.

PG&E Corporation (PCG) $9.11/sh -8.48 (-48.20%)

tovarichpeter says

PG&E cause Paradise Fire

You raci....errr....ethnicist!

Hispanic Leader Geisha Williams Named New CEO and President of PG&E Corporation

https://latintrends.com/hispanic-leader-geisha-williams-named-new-ceo-and-president-of-pge-corporation/

Can't be because otherwise Trump was right again!

Btw the problem with shorting pg & e is that they may get bailed out again by Newsom.

Did anyone short PG&E?

Anyone planning to buy now that it is in the 8$ range?

HeadSet says

Did anyone short PG&E?

Anyone planning to buy now that it is in the 8$ range?

Not touching that pile of shit with a 10ft pole either way. Being their customer is more than fucking enough.

DASKAA says

Not touching that pile of shit with a 10ft pole either way. Being their customer is more than fucking enough.

Correction, Being their customer is more than enough of a fucking....

ForcedTQ says

DASKAA says

Not touching that pile of shit with a 10ft pole either way. Being their customer is more than fucking enough.

Correction, Being their customer is more than enough of a fucking....

That too.

PG&E Corporation (PCG) $6.59/sh -1.79 (-21.36%)