safe & sound
| quote: What about those people who use a CPAP? What if someone dies, and their spouse sues the electric company?
The other issues aside, if somebody has a medical condition that requires electricity they should be responsible for ensuring they have a back up in the event it is needed. Electricity isn't a guarantee regardless of the circumstances. |
| | | Posts: 15712 | Location: St. Charles, MO, USA | Registered: September 22, 2003 | 
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Go ahead punk, make my day
| quote: Originally posted by MikeinNC:
What about those people who use a CPAP? What if someone dies, and their spouse sues the electric company?
They should be suing the government... And if you NEED electricity to live and don't have a backup battery / generator, its simply natural selection. Or your family REALLY wants that inheritance...  |
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| quote: Originally posted by PowerSurge:
Many, many places in Cali don’t have the trees cut back far enough from the power lines. Juan Brown has video of a few around his area on his channel alone.
Its a mess and the state has done very little to manage/oversee (hello PUC) this work. Some homeowners have had assigned contractors come to have the work done, others, like those next door, have not; no rhyme or reason, no contact info to check on dates, allocation of assignments, progress. Those who have had trimming or, cutting work done, usually have to deal with a separate contractor to come and haul the trimmings/logs away, this can range from one week to, several months AFTER the cutting work. |
| | | Posts: 14634 | Location: Wine Country | Registered: September 20, 2000 |
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Baroque Bloke
| Dead calm this morning at my home in San Diego, about five miles from the Pacific coast.
Serious about crackers |
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| quote: Originally posted by MikeinNC:
What about those people who use a CPAP? What if someone dies, and their spouse sues the electric company?
We’re on our own. PGE has a medical baseline account where folks with medical needs requiring electricity are charged at a lower tier. Along with that is supposed to be better follow up from PGE in case of these somewhat planned outages where PGE is supposed to call and even show up at the customers front door to make sure the customer is aware that the power is going out. Don’t know if that actually happens as I’m not yet on the plan. People have died in the past due to planned outages. Don’t know if their survivors sued or not. PGE takes no responsibility. If a customer is elderly and on a fixed income and unable to procure or operate a generator too bad. Berkeley suggested self evacuation and if that wasn’t possible said to call 911 and get a ride to the ER. Events like this illustrate that the government isn’t going to help. We’re on our own. If you don’t have the knowledge and resources you’re going to be in a world of hurt. I’ve got to go buy a generator for the next time it’s hot and windy. In theory it would be helpful if that big earthquake hits but I live on top of the fault line and don’t anticipate my house remaining upright. Fire is the biggest danger post quake and my neighborhood has narrow winding roads that will surely be buckled or otherwise blocked making post quake evac a footed affair. Humping a 50+lb genny in addition to more important survival supplies isn’t in the cards especially as speed will be of the essence if flames are at my heals. |
| | | Posts: 4277 | Location: Peoples Republic of Berkeley | Registered: June 12, 2008 |
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| quote: Originally posted by berto:Fire is the biggest danger post quake and my neighborhood has narrow winding roads that will surely be buckled or otherwise blocked making post quake evac a footed affair. Humping a 50+lb genny in addition to more important survival supplies isn’t in the cards especially as speed will be of the essence if flames are at my heals.
Buy the home kit for fire, got it for my parents place. Then invest in a better earthquake kit: gas chain-saw (fallen trees), rotary saw (bldg evac), along with the usual items. |
| | | Posts: 14634 | Location: Wine Country | Registered: September 20, 2000 |
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| PG&E CEO apologizes for faulty website, fancy dinner, basically everything else quote: After the power went off for 800,000 Pacific Gas & Electric customers this week, the utility's CEO had a lot to apologize for.
During a press conference Thursday evening, CEO Bill Johnson took a conciliatory tone and expressed regret for the way the company's public safety power shutoff (PSPS) unfolded. PG&E proactively cut power to 800,000 customers (or an estimated 2.4 million people with the understanding that each customer represents about three residents on average) in an attempt to avoid the spread of wildfires during high winds.
"As a result of this, millions of people have been without a fundamental service they expect and deserve," said Johnson. "This is not how we want to serve you and not how we want to run our business."
Johnson went on to explain the decision was ultimately made with public safety in mind, though Gov. Gavin
Newsom said Thursday that framing doesn't tell the whole story. He blamed years of "greed and neglect" at PG&E for putting Californians in this situation.
During a press conference Thursday evening, CEO Bill Johnson took a conciliatory tone and expressed regret for the way the company's public safety power shutoff (PSPS) unfolded. PG&E proactively cut power to 800,000 customers (or an estimated 2.4 million people with the understanding that each customer represents about three residents on average) in an attempt to avoid the spread of wildfires during high winds.
"As a result of this, millions of people have been without a fundamental service they expect and deserve," said Johnson. "This is not how we want to serve you and not how we want to run our business."
Johnson went on to explain the decision was ultimately made with public safety in mind, though Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday that framing doesn't tell the whole story. He blamed years of "greed and neglect" at PG&E for putting Californians in this situation.
"It's decisions that were not made that have led to this moment in PG&E's history — it is not conditions," said Newsom during a press conference. "This is not, from my perspective, a climate change story so much as a story of greed and neglect."
Johnson's annual base salary is $2.5 million, as reported by the Sacramento Bee, and that's without counting shares in the company.
The CEO conceded PG&E "will very likely have to make this kind of decision again in the future," but admitted there is a lot the company could do better. He promised PG&E would work to communicate essential information sooner and more clearly.
Johnson apologized for a PG&E website that showed "inconsistent" and at time "incorrect" information. The website continually crashed due to a high volume of visitors.
He also promised workers were working to restore power as soon as possible. As of mid-day Thursday, 42,000 Bay Area customers were still without power — and more statewide. Johnson asked the public not to take out their frustrations on PG&E workers, who he said had been shot at, punched and cursed out in recent days.
"I do apologize for the hardship this has caused but I think we made the right call on safety," Johnson said.
Aside from his apologies at the public press conference, Johnson also found himself apologizing during an interview with The Chronicle Thursday. The paper revealed about a dozen of the company's employees on the natural gas side of the business were wining and dining with top customers at a Sonoma County vineyard just days before the massive statewide outages.
“I want to apologize to every one of our customers,” Johnson told The Chronicle. “Insensitive, inappropriate, tone deaf are the terms I would use to describe this.”
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| | | Posts: 14634 | Location: Wine Country | Registered: September 20, 2000 |
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Go ahead punk, make my day
| Stories like this are proof that if TEOTWAWKI comes, you just need to be supplied and capable to hunker down for 3-6 months and all the mouth breathing bottom feeders will have expired. |
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Only the strong survive
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| With so many in CA, (and elsewhere), using solar or turbines with battery storage, don't the batteries present a problem for firefighters? Explosions, fire, toxic fumes? Just asking.
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"It's hard to imagine a more stupid or dangerous way of making decisions, than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong."
Thomas Sowell
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semi-reformed sailor
| quote: Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
Stories like this are proof that if TEOTWAWKI comes, you just need to be supplied and capable to hunker down for 3-6 months and all the mouth breathing bottom feeders will have expired.
So really you need the ability to make fire, some sweet baby’s rays and a recipe for eating your neighbors. And a rifle or pistol. I’m set!
"Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor.” Robert A. Heinlein
“You may beat me, but you will never win.” sigmonkey-2020
“A single round of buckshot to the torso almost always results in an immediate change of behavior.” Chris Baker |
| | | Posts: 11270 | Location: Temple, Texas! | Registered: October 07, 2006 |
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Lost
| quote: Originally posted by sigfreund:
Anyone heard what caused the latest wildfires in California that, according to the morning newspaper, had destroyed some 30+ structures?
It's still undetermined (Saddleridge fire). There are eyewitness reports of a fire seen on a power transmission tower. |
| | | Posts: 16319 | Location: SF Bay Area | Registered: December 11, 2003 |
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Go ahead punk, make my day
| quote: Originally posted by MikeinNC: quote: Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
Stories like this are proof that if TEOTWAWKI comes, you just need to be supplied and capable to hunker down for 3-6 months and all the mouth breathing bottom feeders will have expired.
So really you need the ability to make fire, some sweet baby’s rays and a recipe for eating your neighbors. And a rifle or pistol. I’m set!
LOL, yeah bullets can get me food, water, all sorts of cool stuff! |
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Purveyor of
Fine Avatars
| Well...shit. The Kincade Fire is now being reported as possibly being due to a downed PG&E line "near the starting point" of the fire. https://www.washingtonpost.com...ompting-evacuations/Guess we'll be scheduling regular power outages from now on.
"I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak!" - Calvin, "Calvin & Hobbes" |
| | | Posts: 18023 | Location: Sonoma County, CA | Registered: April 09, 2004 |
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Thank you
Very little
| quote: Originally posted by corsair: This weekend is reported that winds may reach as high as '17, when the entire region was inundated with fires. The Napa Home Depot has been selling out of generators, time to go get a couple of blocks of ice. 
Time to load up the vehicles with anything you want to keep, kids, family, dog, drive to Tahoe or Reno for the weekend in a hotel/casino...
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