News — GridEdge

Why California Residents Could See Even More Blackouts This Wildfire Season

GridEdge

Why California Residents Could See Even More Blackouts This Wildfire Season

California utility Pacific Gas & Electric may need to rely even more heavily on forced blackouts this year to prevent its grid from starting more deadly wildfires like the ones that drove it into bankruptcy.  In a statement emailed to GTM, PG&E insists it's not behind schedule on its 2020 wildfire-mitigation work. But according to data released last week as part of its first-quarter earnings report, the utility still has a long way to go in areas like grid hardening, vegetation clearing, physical inspections, and installation of specialized gear on its distribution and transmission system.  Meanwhile, the inspections that PG&E has done in the past year have been sharply criticized by...

Read more →