High winds expected - residents with medical needs requiring electricity told to relocate.

A major utility has infrastructure so obsolete and unmaintained it has to be shut off to prevent loss of life and property. Guess some Californians are going to find out what it's like to live in a second or third world country.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/09/2019 02:17AM by RgrF.

I'm in a zone on their map that is supposed to lose power, its 12:20 AM and the lights are still on.

The winds aren't even supposed to pick up until Wed night, as of now, the leaves on trees aren't even fluttering.

I read the PG&E notice to mean midnight tonight (Wed), if the winds don't show up they may rescind the decision. Hopefully there will be weather shift between now and then.

Quote
RgrF
High winds expected - residents with medical needs requiring electricity told to relocate.

A major utility has infrastructure so obsolete and unmaintained it has to be shut off to prevent loss of life and property. Guess some Californians are going to find out what it's like to live in a second or third world country.

You're diminishing the true experience of living in 2nd and 3rd world countries. I'm sure we will survive. They claim mine is going off at noon Wednesday. We shall see. I hope not. The game comes on around 5.

I'm certain you will. I'm also not so certain that word has gotten out to where it needs to be. Much of the area is rural and a lot of those folk depend on available elec for health device support of one sort or another.

The 3rd world jibe was aimed at a utility that has cause untold death and suffering because of it's failure of mission. It's teetering on bankruptcy and it's hard for me to envision stockholders returning the dividends they reaped over those misspent years so the surviving entity will then have to rebuild on the backs of ratepayers.

Quote
RgrF
I'm certain you will. I'm also not so certain that word has gotten out to where it needs to be. Much of the area is rural and a lot of those folk depend on available elec for health device support of one sort or another.

The 3rd world jibe was aimed at a utility that has cause untold death and suffering because of it's failure of mission. It's teetering on bankruptcy and it's hard for me to envision stockholders returning the dividends they reaped over those misspent years so the surviving entity will then have to rebuild on the backs of ratepayers.

People talk but nobody really cares and nothing is really going to happen to them. Bankruptcy would help them out by getting rid of pesky creditors. PG&E's coverage schematic is too vast, too rugged and too old. Plus there are millions of dead and dying trees in forests they don't own ready to be sparked. Mostly by reasons other than them. The shut offs are just to cover their asses. For show. Punishing them only makes my bill higher. They pass it all on to me. My place in L.A. is SoCal Edison. They aren't any better. Their footprint is much smaller even though they have about the same number of customers. Then there is L.A.'s DWP. They're no better either. Smaller footprint, easier terrain.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/09/2019 03:51AM by vision63.

......power......to the people.....

---

_____________________________________

I reject your reality and substitute my own!

PG&E's CHECK YOUR ADDRESS page doesn't load.

I'll have to try another Mac and browser.

---

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

Everybody matters or nobody matters.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

-An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

Mister, that's a ten-gallon hat on a twenty-gallon head.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

Fortunately, we live in an area that is serviced by a local public utilities district that does not get power from PGE. So we are not currently expecting a shut down. But general panic is spreading for sure.

As much as PGE is a monopoly, there are soooo many other factors at work here, and I believe that PGE is the scapegoat for a world of other problems.

The officials say scream that PGE has been responsible for 17 fires alone in 2017. That leaves hundereds, if not thousands, of wildfires caused by other sources.

I spent 18 years as a volunteer firefighter in a very fire prone county. During that tenure, I responded to one wildfire caused by a down power line in a November wind storm. I responded to hundreds caused by other causes: campfires, escaped burn piles, off highway vehicles, vehicle malfunctions, target practice, lawnmower, chainsaws, lightning and arson are the primary causes that come to mind.

Following the Tubbs fire and then last year's Camp fire, people were looking for someone to blame. Ultimately the source of the Tubbs fire was electrical, but not attributed to a PGE line. The Camp fire was due to PGE. But the terrible outcome of the Camp fire had much more to due to poor planning and allowing far too many people to move into remote areas in the "urban interface". There was also extremely poor education and enforcement on keeping safe clearances between combustibles and homes. Don't even get me started on the lack of planning for emergency evacuation routes. Those private citizens, cities and counties involved bear just as much responsibility for the disaster as PGE, yet PGE became the deep pockets scapegoat.

So yes, PGE now has to use the shutoffs as a way to avoid further liability. There's probably some truth to the idea that the shutting off power to 800K customers, as many as 2.5M people, is a way to point out that we can't do this as a solution. Millions of dollars will be lost due to these outages and you can bet that the public outcry will mean that Californians will be forced to look at better ways to deal with fire dangers.

---

“Live your life, love your life, don’t regret…live, learn and move forward positively.” – CR Johnson
Loving life in Lake Tahoe, CA

Markintosh has hit the nail on the head. The main problem is that our tort system seeks the deepest pockets. And many of the victims were poorly prepared and very underinsured. Between the victims seeking someone to blame and the big insurers wanting shed responsibility, PG&E is left holding the proverbial bag.

But the politicians cannot blame the victims, so they are insisting that PG&E somehow fund a massive replacement of infrastructure to ensure perfect safety with no money. The shareholders are wiped out--that may be appropriate--but as Vision says, the results will be that rate payers will subsidize the victims and the insurance firms.

My brother jokingly said that if the catastrophe were the results of an earthquake, there would be nobody to blame. I responded that they would blame the utility anyway because no on has earthquake insurance either.

I heard on the news that the power will be off only until they can check all the power lines in the areas that are affected. Maybe five days.

All the power lines? That's a lot of lines to check, especially in the more remote areas. I'm thinking more than five days. And, also some overtime to the employees who are checking the lines.

All you customers will see a fatter bill arriving...

---

Disclaimer: This post is checked for correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Any attempts at humor are solely the responsibility of the author and bear no claim that any and all readers will approve or appreciate said attempt at humor.
My name is DP, and I approve this message.

Quote
Markintosh
...far too many people...

Resources are not infinite.

I can't imagine this.

In Michigan we have snow and ice storms that cause tree limbs to fall on power lines that may cause power lines to break or fail.

Our utility company has spent a good majority of the fair weather months this spring and summer trimming back trees. It makes some of the trees look silly but it is for the greater good of the block.

To turn off power for up to 5 days "just in case the wind snaps a power line and starts a fire" is just unimaginable.

Imagine the Michigan upper peninsula populated with millions of dead and dying trees and you might get a feel for what California has to deal with.

PGE has been lax in upkeep spending. The transmission line that started the Camp fire was a 100 years old.

---

=wr=

Possibly coming to my Oregon place. I'm not currently connected, but there are lines coming on to the property. I pay a yearly maintenance fee, or I'd have to pay to replace them if I wanted to hook up and they were damaged or destroyed. Power goes out around there regularly in the winter due to trees falling on the lines during storms.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/09/2019 02:19PM by btfc.

....are coming.....where....?!?!?!?

---

_____________________________________

I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Quote
RgrF
Imagine the Michigan upper peninsula populated with millions of dead and dying trees and you might get a feel for what California has to deal with.

The entire state of Michigan has fewer people than the single county of L.A.

The shutdown is the stuff criminals dream of.

Quote
vision63

Quote
RgrF
Imagine the Michigan upper peninsula populated with millions of dead and dying trees and you might get a feel for what California has to deal with.

The entire state of Michigan has fewer people than the single county of L.A.

City of LA has it's own power grid, it's not affected by PG&E. The rest of LA County is in the same PG&E boat but the outages are pretty much confined to rural and northern counties. I didn't think Oakland would be included.

Quote
vision63

Quote
RgrF
Imagine the Michigan upper peninsula populated with millions of dead and dying trees and you might get a feel for what California has to deal with.

The entire state of Michigan has fewer people than the single county of L.A.

Probably true. The same could be said for most states.

---

Also, many power lines in those areas are over brush and scrub where a strong enough wind, e.g., can break a power line and it falls hot onto the dry brush. It isn't necessarily a tree or a limb falling on a power line breaking it that starts the fire. Add a Santa Ana event and...

The entire state of Michigan has fewer people than the single county of L.A.

Lots of room for you all to move here and avoid those brush fires, as well as the earthquakes, droughts, rattlesnakes, mudslides, scorpions, black widows, volcanoes, traffic (stopped dead on the 405 and Sunset at midnight Sunday or the Bay Bridge at 7:30am Monday)...

---

Disclaimer: This post is checked for correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Any attempts at humor are solely the responsibility of the author and bear no claim that any and all readers will approve or appreciate said attempt at humor.
My name is DP, and I approve this message.

Quote
RgrF
City of LA has it's own power grid, it's not affected by PG&E. The rest of LA County is in the same PG&E boat but the outages are pretty much confined to rural and northern counties. I didn't think Oakland would be included.

LA County is SCE, which is prepared for planned outages throughout southern/eastern California.

[www.scemaintenance.com]

Here's excerpt from an email I got from a friend in the area.

"PG&E - those smucks!
If the food in my refrigerator spoils, there will be some Kapparot Swinging for sure!!"

So, no electricity to essentially millions in the less populated, and even remote areas.

The IDIOTS living in the dense population centers who have systematically pissed away 2nd Ammendment rights, have power, and thus security. And those who got outvoted by shear mass, are left without power for days, maybe even weeks, and have less rights and abilities to protect themselves.

Awesome. The uninformed rule again.

I heard on the news that the power will be off only... Maybe five days.

Sure, just like camping out.


To turn off power for up to 5 days "just in case the wind snaps a power line and starts a fire" is just unimaginable.

Agreed.

But I may get to experience the unimaginable.


The shutdown is the stuff criminals dream of.

The local FD, PD, and SO as well as many others are being heavily staffed for the event.

It'll be interesting to see what actually happens, for business not protected with battery backups, or the possibility of an enormity of simultaneous calls for service, medical and criminal.

Without a major event such as a football game or shooting to er- spark things, this may just be a non-event.

Like the Omega Man, I'll venture out in the daylight, though there may not be much point save for fresh air. Then I'll hunker down from dusk 'till dawn. And order a massive power brick if AMZ hasn't raised prices.

I haven't ventured outside today to see what the stores are doing. I don't know that Safeway has backup power. The local McDonald's doesn't.

I'm not on medication or any life support systems. I have water, batteries, flashlights, headlights, and books. And ammo.

I'll be ok, and hope the same for everybody else who may be affected..

---

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

Everybody matters or nobody matters.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

-An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

Mister, that's a ten-gallon hat on a twenty-gallon head.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

Quote
Racer X
So, no electricity to essentially millions in the less populated, and even remote areas.

The IDIOTS living in the dense population centers who have systematically pissed away 2nd Ammendment rights, have power, and thus security. And those who got outvoted by shear mass, are left without power for days, maybe even weeks, and have less rights and abilities to protect themselves.

Awesome. The uninformed rule again.

It's no different than the Enron inspired 'brownouts' of yesteryear. Most of California was affected but city operated utilities were not. Not sure if private utilities are pro 2nd amendment and city owned are not or even what that has to do with the problem. Guess it's hard to get out there hunting in the midst of a forest fire.

Quote
RAMd®d
I heard on the news that the power will be off only... Maybe five days.

Sure, just like camping out.


To turn off power for up to 5 days "just in case the wind snaps a power line and starts a fire" is just unimaginable.

Agreed.

But I may get to experience the unimaginable.


The shutdown is the stuff criminals dream of.

The local FD, PD, and SO as well as many others are being heavily staffed for the event.

It'll be interesting to see what actually happens, for business not protected with battery backups, or the possibility of an enormity of simultaneous calls for service, medical and criminal.

Without a major event such as a football game or shooting to er- spark things, this may just be a non-event.

Like the Omega Man, I'll venture out in the daylight, though there may not be much point save for fresh air. Then I'll hunker down from dusk 'till dawn. And order a massive power brick if AMZ hasn't raised prices.

I haven't ventured outside today to see what the stores are doing. I don't know that Safeway has backup power. The local McDonald's doesn't.

I'm not on medication or any life support systems. I have water, batteries, flashlights, headlights, and books. And ammo.

I'll be ok, and hope the same for everybody else who may be affected..

Yep, just think of those just using CPAP machines for their sleep apnea...w/o grid power or running a generator they'll need a hefty capacity battery (& a way to recharge it the next day) for every single night the power's off.

Yep, just think of those just using CPAP machines for their sleep apnea...

Yes, a former co-worker uses one and keeps a big 12V battery on standby for normal outages.

Fortunately, his apnea hasn't hit him too hard. and he should be ok with that for a couple - three days.

I feel fortunate.

---

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

Everybody matters or nobody matters.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

-An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

Mister, that's a ten-gallon hat on a twenty-gallon head.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

most cpaps and bipaps will run off 12V

Quote
RAMd®d
I haven't ventured outside today to see what the stores are doing. I don't know that Safeway has backup power. The local McDonald's doesn't.

I went out today, everything seemed normal. Went to Costco, normal lines at their gas pumps. In the store they had Duracell batteries on sale, plenty of supply, no crowds.

Went to Fry's hadn't been there in a while, it looked like a ghost town.

It's 8:35 PM now, last word was that my power was supposed to go out sometime after 8PM. Also saw reports that power restoration should start around Noon tomorrow. This is for Santa Clara County.

Quote
GGD
Went to Fry's hadn't been there in a while, it looked like a ghost town.

Speaking of that: [www.dailynews.com]

---

It is what it is.

I just got home from a backpacking trip near south lake tahoe. I knew nothing of this, but drove through the affected area. There are no roving gangs of madmax types. I stopped at a usual place outside of Placerville on HWY 50 - one of the few routes the crosses the Sierra.

The stop light at the offramp didn't work. The restaurant was closed. It was then that I learned about the blackout from the sign on the door. Good thing that I didn't need any gas right then.

Quote
N-OS X-tasy!

Quote
GGD
Went to Fry's hadn't been there in a while, it looked like a ghost town.

Speaking of that: [www.dailynews.com]

Really looked like they're circling the drain, and this was at their Sunnyvale store, more or less where it all began (the store grew and moved twice since the very first store).

When I go into a Microcenter it reminds me more of what Fry's used to be like. They left the bay area several years ago when their rent got too high, but I go to their store when I'm in NY.

What, no solar, no Powerwalls, no plug-in hybrid electric cars with inverters and a full tank of gas with another five or ten gallons in cans?

---

Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

[finance.yahoo.com]

Tesla Rushes to Keep California Blackout From Busting Batteries

“(Bloomberg) -- Before PG&E Corp.’s massive blackout swept across Northern California, Tesla Inc. issued a politely worded but urgent message to its many area customers: charge up your car, now.

Customers tweeted photos Wednesday of the notice popping up on the touch screens of their electric cars, advising them to top off their batteries while they still could. Utility owner PG&E began shutting off electricity to parts of the region early Wednesday to prevent its power lines from sparking fires during an expected windstorm.

“A utility company in your area announced they may turn off power in some areas of Northern California beginning October 9 as part of public safety power shutoffs, which may affect power to charging options,” the notice read. “We recommend charging your Tesla to 100% today to ensure that your drive remains uninterrupted.”

The notice wasn’t Tesla’s only response to the outages affecting the automaker’s San Francisco Bay Area home. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk tweeted that the company was adding solar arrays and batteries to its charging stations as fast as possible.”

---

Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

I like how Gavin Newsom came out yesterday and said "Californians should be outraged".

Then I found a YouTube interview just a few days ago when a reporter repeatedly ask Newsom why he accepted over $200K from PG&E towards his governor election (after the San Bruno gas pipe explosion and the Camp fire). Newsom could not answer and tried to avoid the persistent questioning.

Quote
Racer X
most cpaps and bipaps will run off 12V

Yep, I bet many CPAP users will end up sleeping in their (running) vehicles.

I woke up to still having power this morning. I had received calls at 11:30 PM last night that the shutoffs had begun in my area. As of this morning PG&E says that they've completed Phase 2 which includes Santa Clara County, and anyone who has power now will continue to have power.

Was finally able to get their outage map to load this morning, and there were shutoffs VERY close (walking distance) to my house, on my street, but my house was just outside their impacted area.

The actual shutoff area was much smaller than the earlier maps that showed the areas that they were intending to shut off (which did include my house).