designed to help PG&E recoup part of the losses
that drove it into bankruptcy, cost customers an
average of $1,300 to $1,700 apiece.
Bailout supporters argued customers would be
able to count on safe, reliable power.
But it hasn’t turned out that way. Getting to safe,
reliable power will still require billions of dollars
in system upgrades and extensive tree-trimming
to keep branches and trunks from blowing into
power lines.
Hardening the grid also involves replacing
outdated poles and power lines, and insulating,
or in dangerous areas, burying lines, which can
easily cost millions of dollars per mile. Weather
sensors and cameras help utilities predict and
track dangerous weather. Sectionalizing lines, as
other California utilities have done, allow more
targeted blackouts so millions aren’t left in the
dark when winds pick up, as they were three
times in October.
Grid hardening can help limit the frequency and
the breadth of power shutoffs and wildfires, but
the danger can’t be totally eliminated.
“There’s no way to completely protect the
electricity grid and control all of its interactions
with the environment around it,” said Ted Kury,
director of energy studies for the Public Utility
Research Center at the University of Florida. “Any
place you locate power lines there’s going to be
a trade-off.”
Shareholders and bondholders are competing
to control the company once it emerges from
bankruptcy, and there are also proposals to
redesign its ownership, have cities take a stake,
or more broadly overhaul regulations.