In California, a lot of people live near power lines in forests that are very dry.
Residents and their friends watch neighboring homes burn as the Hillside fire tears through San Bernardino, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. “The consumer’s going to have to pay for it,” he said. “It’s not just going to be a PG&E cost,” notes Matthew Cordaro, a longtime power company official with the Long Island Power Authority. Most experts agree that the fires and the power outages will continue for years and all energy will cost more. The problem and its possible answers are the top concern for California politicians. He directs the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. “There’s a ton of blame to go around here,” said Christopher Knittel. Combine those problems with both climate change and a housing shortage, and a crisis appears. The company’s troubles come from years of poor leadership and even worse government oversight. Many Californians are unsure as to whether the company can safely provide electricity to a large part of the state. Pacific Gas & Electric, PG&E, is $30 billion in debt and needs billions more to modernize its aging power system. The power company that serves more than 5 million people in one of the world’s most technologically developed areas has to make a decision: turn off the electricity or risk starting wildfires.