I write this on Saturday, Dec. 14, from the home I rent in Pacific Grove, by candlelight, like some 18th-century serf. I await the sunrise to go to the nearest coffee shop with power, to post this letter expressing my disillusionment and disgust with our energy infrastructure here in the Monterey Bay.
Each year, as sure as the winter solstice, we suffer several power outages. They last for varying amounts of time and affect a varying number of people. Sometimes thousands, for days at a time. I am fortunate to have traveled to many countries for work and have friends around the world. Those in first-world nations are shocked when I speak of how my fiancé sits in the dark at home, grading homework and tests yet again. Those from developing nations nod in understanding. Then, they are shocked when I tell them the cost of our monthly energy bill.
To live in one of the most sought-after, expensive locales in the world, and to sit with food rotting in the fridge, work inaccessible, must be the act of a cruel and inept creator. But I find it is instead the mismatched handiwork of Pacific Gas & Electric.
They may not see us here in the dark, year after year.
I want to explain why I’m so angry at PG&E, our representatives and our municipalities for failing our communities. I want to highlight how their failures impact us. The impacts seem clear to me, but they must not see us here in the dark, year after year.
First, outages harm our environment. During power outages, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of generators are turned on. They are left to run to keep life moving for residents with no other choice. These generators release exhaust and greenhouse gases.
Second, they affect our economy. Small businesses are struggling to survive. Forcing them to close due to the power going out, for even a day, is cruel. Large businesses are better suited for weathering these situations. They can buy commercial-scale generators (again, harming the environment). They can discard products with little profit loss at scale. But local businesses are left behind by PG&E and governments meant to support us. As an independent contractor, if I cannot work, my pay will be delayed, but my bills will still be due – regardless of PG&E’s failure to supply the power we pay for.
Third, a lack of equity. PG&E’s dystopian infrastructure and our government’s inaction hurt everyone. But they hit hardest those already struggling to support their families. Those who rely on hourly work may not have work to go to due to closures (see above).
Every year as I sit in the dark, waiting for the lights to come back on, I wonder when action will be taken to improve our failing infrastructure. Some institutions serve their communities well. But some publicly subsidized private corporations appear only to care about their shareholders. If only our legislators and municipalities would make them serve their customers. But they seem either unwilling or unable to do so.
(2) comments
The gentleman doth protest too much, methinks...
Living in the same area, I've found that when there is a power outage, I can use my mobile phone to go to the PG&E website and check the estimated resolution time. In my experience, problems have been resolved before the estimated time.
The post is bombastic and exaggerates what happens when we lose power due to natural forces beyond our control. It also does not credit the PG&E workers who brave terrible weather conditions to fix issues caused by the weather.
Terrible post!
I understand your frustration. No one seems to think about their electricity very much until the lights don't come on as expected when you flip the switch first thing in the morning. No one wants that, including PG&E.
I can tell you that the men and women who work for PG&E put in a lot of time and effort to make their infrastructure dependable and resilient. They respond to outages as quickly as possible and with as much equipment and manpower as necessary to get the power restored. One of the best feelings is to close a set of fuses and see the neighborhood light up. There is no one at PG&E who doesn't care about your electricity being out.
Some of the things that contribute to outages are high winds, trees falling into lines, animals and birds getting into lines and equipment, vehicles hitting poles and wildfires.
If you live in the forest, you are much more likely to experience an outage.
I would highly recommend buying a generator. I live in a residential neighborhood with underground lines and I have a standby generator. It is fueled by natural gas and comes on automatically in the event of an outage. It contributes minimally to climate change as it runs only occasionally. When we had the big earthquake a couple of years ago, the only house on my street with electricity was mine. Portable generators capable of powering lights plus your refrigerator and freezer cost less that $1000 and are simple to operate. If you save the perishables in your cold storage and it helps you continue to work, you'll save enough money to offset that expense quite soon.
I look at having electricity in my home as a privilege instead of a guarantee. No matter how much money you pay and no matter where you live, no one can guarantee you will never have an outage.
Things you can do to help PG&E keep your electricity on are: a) Allow them to trim the trees around the lines. They're not cutting trees for fun. They are identifying trees that can come in contact with the lines and start fires or break the wires. b) Allow them access to your property to inspect the trees, poles, lines and equipment. They're not casing your property to later return and steal from you. They don't care if you're growing marijuana. They just want to identify weak points in the infrastructure so those issues can be dealt with on a schedule instead of during an outage. c) Keep your contact information current so you can be contacted easily. Put street address numbers on your house so they can find it quickly. d) Contact PG&E as soon as your electricity goes out. Let them know if there is a wire down even if your electricity is still on. Call in if you see a tree or a pole leaning and you think it might cause a problem. Tell them if you see a limb that looks like it might fall into the lines. They are happy to come check it out.
And finally, don't take it personally if your power goes out. Rest assured PG&E will put resources to work to get it back on as quickly as possible. They DO care.
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.