Pulling the plug on the millions of volts of electrical energy that pulse through the power lines above millions of acres of dry grass and forest in northern and central California was the right move by Pacific Gas & Electric to avoid setting off another massive wildfire recently.
But the electric company’s drastic measures, rolling blackouts which inconvenienced and disrupted the lives of hundreds of thousands of customers, is indicative of the massive infrastructure needs across the nation’s power grid.
Equipment operated by many electric companies as well as power line maintenance is often cited by experts as in need of improvement. In California, PG&E acknowledges it has completed only about a third of the tree trimming needed for its 2,500 miles of transmission lines.
Tree contact with transmission lines is the leading cause of electric power outages, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. In California and many states, the power companies also have to cope with gusting winds and humidity problems that also can cause electric line problems.
PG&E was found responsible for two dozen wildfires in the last two years, and now faces as much as $30 billion in possible damage liability. That led the utility to file bankruptcy. PG&E admitted that its transmission line probably started the state’s worst wildfire, known as the Camp Fire, which killed more than 80 people and destroyed the town of Paradise in November, 2018.
Sixteen years ago, a massive blackout affecting 50 million people in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and much of the northeastern United States and part of Canada was triggered by a tree limb near a power line in Cleveland. FirstEnergy Corp., which owns Toledo Edison and Cleveland Electric, was deemed responsible for not maintaining its tree trimming near its lines.
That led to federal regulatory guidelines in how lines are to be maintained. FirstEnergy spent more than $320 million clearing trees after the 2003 blackout, even using helicopters outfitted with saws. Customer pleas to “spare my tree” were no longer heeded.
Federal records show power outages are increasing nationally, with many caused by weather, such as hurricanes. But regulators acknowledge that much of the national electric grid is antiquated, with needed upgrades in transformers, transmission lines, the power plants, and other equipment. Improvements will cost many billions of dollars.
After the PG&E action, California should be looking for ways to better isolate transmissions, promote home storage and generation, and exempt vulnerable customers so that intentional blackouts of the future create less havoc.
PG&E is the poster child for a much bigger problem with America’s neglected power infrastructure. Action is needed by utilities and by the federal government to shore up our electricity system.
First Published October 20, 2019, 4:00 a.m.
