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Droughts are nothing new on the west coast, and while those in California are more or less used to the dry periods, there are companies out there making things much more dangerous than needed. The electric utilities of California are creating incredibly dangerous conditions with their equipment, but while they seem to be negligent, state officials are hesitant to do much about it. The Office Of Energy Infrastructure Safety even approved power companies’ wildfire prevention plans even when they were obviously “seriously deficient” in the words of a recent report to the state legislature.
The power companies have stated that they are actively working to make sure their equipment is safer and more fire-resistant, but the Public Utilities Commission and the California energy office have not even scratched the surface of what could be done to make the annual wildfire season less devastating. A recent report from the State Auditor states that the most urgently-needed upgrades, with the highest priority for public safety and potential for damage in high fire-risk areas, have not been made.
In just the last 7 years, negligence or equipment failure on the part of the power companies has caused more than 25% of the 20 most destructive fires. To say that another way, the number of dangerous, deadly, and destructive wildfires can be reduced by more than one-quarter with simple and modern upgrades. Some of the most dangerous and failure-prone equipment are things like older transformers, underinsulated or uninsulated transmission lines, and other outdated equipment that is subject to damage when the winds pick up, or when hit by trees or debris.
PG&E – Profit Over Risk
One of the biggest energy firms in the state is Pacific Gas & Electric, PG&E as it’s known, and they are responsible for one of the most destructive and deadly fires in state history. The tower known as “Tower 27/222” is a transmission line town that is crucial to maintaining power to much of the state, and when a live wire broke free it wasn’t a bit of concern initially.
The outage affected just one person, but when the live wire hit the dry brush on the ground, there was a fire within minutes. Within just a few hours, the fire had taken over the entire region and become a significant concern for the state’s fire management services. In the end, the fire caused by one live wire killed 85 people and completely erased the town of Paradise.
While a broken like may just seem like a bit of routine maintenance that the towers and lines need periodically, it turned out to be symptomatic of a larger problem with ignoring public safety. Talking to former employees and critics of the utility, the fire that claimed Paradise was a direct indication of the broken safety culture that exists within PG&E. In fact, of the top 10 most destructive fires since 2015, half were caused by faults in or components of the PG&E network. In many of these cases, authorities have found that there were violations of state law that would have prevented the fires or helped to minimize their impact.
With PG&E, the neglect of their equipment is nothing less than systematic. Long before Paradise went up in smoke, internal communications from the power company highlighted the tendency of the area’s power equipment to collapse or fail in the frequent high winds of the area. In one case, a team brought in to repair a corrosion-damaged tower was put in danger by the amount of damage to the structure in combination with the local winds. In an area known for fierce winds, this could mean catastrophic network failure or region-devastating wildfires. Finally, in January 2022, PG&E filed for bankruptcy protection, since it was looking at potentially shouldering more than $25 billion in wildfire damages and liability.
Regulators Seem To Be Indifferent
There have been efforts to upgrade equipment at some of the larger investor-owned utilities like PG&E, SoCal Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric, but many people are opposed to the improvements because they see that the state utility regulator simply doesn’t monitor the industry intensely enough. With the near-apocalyptic wildfires that are breaking out year after year, people are right to want to know if they are paying for watchdogs, or if they’re buying lap dogs when it comes to the Public Utilities Commission.
The Public Utilities Commission has come under fire before for not being thorough enough in their auditing process when auditing companies that said they have performed certain work or upgrades. The PUC even states that they don’t “use their authority to penalize utilities” even when auditors have discovered violations or dangerous situations. The commission is primarily tasked with ensuring the safe operation of the electrical grid for the state, but how they operate seems to run counter to this directive.
The officials at the Public Utilities Commission say that they agree with the findings in the recently published report from the State Auditor, and that they will be working to create plans and timelines for implementing recommended improvements.
It’s Just Not Enough
The report prepared by the California State Auditor showed definitively that there is just not enough being done by the power companies to prevent wildfires, and authorities aren’t doing enough to prioritize upgrades in high-risk locations. With more than 40,000 miles of power lines in the state’s high fire-risk regions, the total mileage worked on or repaired by the utility companies was just over 1,500 of those miles.
The law requires power companies to locate and identify portions of the lines that are most frequently affected by power shutoffs. This law can become even more effective if it requires the companies to report on their planned prevention of future shutoffs. Most of the state’s power companies are opposed to measures like these, and even continue to dispute the basic facts about their equipment, networks, and safety record.
If You Were a Victim of a Fire Caused by a Power Company
Call TorkLaw at 888.845.9696 or contact us online today to schedule a complimentary case review. Our knowledgeable staff is available to take your call 24/7.
