Here in the (relatively speaking) wealthy Berkeley Hills, the only safety I have in my immediate four block area is due to the fact 25 plus years ago we the residents agreed to pay to underground the cables. I am glad we did it but if ordinary citizens could do it, why can not PG&E do it? This past year the cost of gas and electricity was three times as high as normal. Why? And do I feel safe up here today with high winds and constantly having to cut down waist high weeds behind my property, this year nasty thistle plants from the rain? Does the city of Berkeley do it? Nope. They make us pay for the paper refuse bags that are three times the cost of ones you get at Home Depot which they won't pick up because they are not the Berkeley bags. If I didn't know better I would say this city is trying to kill us.....hmmmmm. PG&E is detested and corrupted. Their new CEO has done nothing but take hundreds of thousands of dollars in "benefits" since she has arrived. Money shuts down even well intentioned people. This is not a public utility. You have to wonder how much are the politicians making off the destruction PG&E causes?
Cindy, we are kindred spirits here, as we are on most issues. I've been ranting about our shockingly outdated power grids for years. There is absolutely no excuse for a country as wealthy as ours to ever have rolling power blackouts, or to lose power over all but the rarest extreme weather disasters. Fifty years ago, Americans wouldn't have tolerated these kinds of things, which were previously relegated to Third World countries. When I walked the dog this morning, I was stunned at how bad the air was. Smoky, and hard to breathe. I live in northern Virginia. They tell us that this unprecedented air- the likes of which I've never seen here- is the result of forest fires in Canada? What? There's a lot of land between us and Canada. America 2.0 has become the biggest Sh!thole Country in the history of the world. Thanks.
While the wildfires were happening I looked at the maps of where. Mostly PGE and SCE areas were hard hit.
Guess what?
The areas that had municipal utilities, like SMUD and LADWP, had much less issues.
Wanna know why?
Their revenues don't go to profits or shareholders as they are owned by the local government.
PRIVATIZATION OF UTILITIES IS RIDICULOUS
Here in the (relatively speaking) wealthy Berkeley Hills, the only safety I have in my immediate four block area is due to the fact 25 plus years ago we the residents agreed to pay to underground the cables. I am glad we did it but if ordinary citizens could do it, why can not PG&E do it? This past year the cost of gas and electricity was three times as high as normal. Why? And do I feel safe up here today with high winds and constantly having to cut down waist high weeds behind my property, this year nasty thistle plants from the rain? Does the city of Berkeley do it? Nope. They make us pay for the paper refuse bags that are three times the cost of ones you get at Home Depot which they won't pick up because they are not the Berkeley bags. If I didn't know better I would say this city is trying to kill us.....hmmmmm. PG&E is detested and corrupted. Their new CEO has done nothing but take hundreds of thousands of dollars in "benefits" since she has arrived. Money shuts down even well intentioned people. This is not a public utility. You have to wonder how much are the politicians making off the destruction PG&E causes?
Cindy, we are kindred spirits here, as we are on most issues. I've been ranting about our shockingly outdated power grids for years. There is absolutely no excuse for a country as wealthy as ours to ever have rolling power blackouts, or to lose power over all but the rarest extreme weather disasters. Fifty years ago, Americans wouldn't have tolerated these kinds of things, which were previously relegated to Third World countries. When I walked the dog this morning, I was stunned at how bad the air was. Smoky, and hard to breathe. I live in northern Virginia. They tell us that this unprecedented air- the likes of which I've never seen here- is the result of forest fires in Canada? What? There's a lot of land between us and Canada. America 2.0 has become the biggest Sh!thole Country in the history of the world. Thanks.
agree absolutely. we need to reclaim the commons, and rid ourselves of these parasitic crime families and their companies.