PG&E $25 Billion Settlement Calpocalypse 2019

[@glenjo0]

Believe me, as somebody way inside the aerospace industry, the engineers concerned about airplanes, are pushed out by the bean counters, and the bean counters figure out how to maximize their bonus while the company and the airplanes go down the tubes. The guys running PG&E did the same thing. The engineers concerned about doing the job right were pushed out, and your electrical grid went down the tubes. Always blame the guys in control of spending the money, they made the decisions, and it is almost always to figure out how to maximize their wealth while everybody else suffers.

[@davidbruce2159]

this is going on in mining industry also. Most boards do NOT have P ENG any more and most managers have arts degrees it's fucking insane

[@victorshackapopulus6078]

It’s the same in almost every industry or business today. Asset stripping and hollowing out of companies before driving them into the ground is an accepted business model today. I don’t have to tell you that the CEOs and directors pay themselves obscene pay and bonuses before walking away leaving people unemployed and what was a business in ruin.

[@leecordner8927]

Agree...but in the utility business the decision makers are often politicians and know nothing regulators. The PUC micromanages PG&E, sets priorities and budgets, determines their authorized profit and jumps out of the way when their mandates causes this kind of crap.

[@chriszbodula1894]

Victor Shackapopulus Spot on. It’s the financial art of asset stripping with the blessing of our government and regulators. Then their is the hedge funds that are buying up all our water and other hard resources using money printed out of thin air and then jacking up the prices on the things we need for basic living. We are so screwed. Husband and wife both working full time and they still can make it is a sign of the end. Hang them all

[@1Mhoram9]

As someone whose father and an uncle are Boeing retired and as someone growing up in the shadow of Boeing in Wichita, and as someone who has worked for Boeing in the past, I intensely disapprove of Boeing now and will NEVER forgive our politicians for allowing Boeing to sell to Spirit. Why our politicians decided we didn't need to own aviation any longer I will never understand.

[@mc52]

"The best reporting on the subject comes from an airline pilot on his days off." Juan wonderful job!

[@kevinbyrne4538]

The $25 billion settlement means $25 billion less to spend on replacing old, faulty equipment, on inspections, on clearing brush around the lines, ... So expect more wildfires next year.

[@carlcushmanhybels8159]

Looking forward.

[@colincampbell767]

Even worse - it will scare off the people who PG&E needs to loan them money to get through all of this. And it will scare off investors when they do emerge from bankruptcy and do an IPO of new stocks in order to get capital.

[@michaelstern1945]

Kevin Byrne And expect higher bills.

[@colincampbell767]

@@michaelstern1945 For you. I escaped the asylum back in 2014.

[@Bryan-Hensley]

Exactly. Liberals have trouble understanding that

[@kenjohnson6573]

FYI: About 20 years ago I worked for a helicopter company in the north east. One of the contracts we had was to put a linesman on the same side of the helicopter as the pilot and a generator on the opposite side, sticking out the passenger door. We would hover next to the tower . The linesman would ground the helicopter to the line and then he would work on the line/tower. It saved lots of time when moving from one tower to the next. Plus no climbing up and down the towers. The actual work preformed took the same amount of time.

[@BrilliantDesignOnline]

Interesting: thanks.

[@helicopterdriver]

I did powerline patrol in the 80's by helicopter. Usually we flew about 50 knots and 20' above and 15' to one side for the linesman, pretty much flew inside the deadman's curve the whole 8 hour day for 2 weeks. You can see everything and I often hovered for a better look at substation feeds or questionable pole, insulator, hardware, transformer or cross arms. Linesmen were chosen for excellent eyesight and experience. He had binoculars too. It seems they could easily use a drone to do recordings from the ground and give it a good video review later. That wear would have been too obvious from a helicopter for an experienced lineman.

[@bbigjohnson069]

How does the linesman work on the line/tower if he's in the helicopter?

[@kiawandajr1097]

@@kareno8634 drones are becoming very popular with electric utilities

[@wolfgirl7077]

I have a cousin who is out there doing this work from the helicopter. He's been out there since last year.

[@larryscott3982]

I hadn’t seen the close up of failure points and fatigued hardware before. Yeah, deferred maintenance.

[@robozstarrr8930]

you would . . . if you ever owned a VW bus!

[@ivermec-tin666]

The pictures speak loudly. Eighteen years of dereliction. If the MSM published these pix, there would be a political firestorm.

[@ivermec-tin666]

@LAFOLLETTER Everything is broken, in the end.

[@ivermec-tin666]

@LAFOLLETTER If the entire country gets a D-, then this California Dreaming thing appears to be contageous. ;-)

[@railroad9000]

Deferred maintenance to save a buck (read that as profit margin) has now cost in the Billions and time to repair/replace infrastructure will never be done in the lifetimes of the citizens in the affected areas. Great job PG&E!, NOT!

[@EASTSIDERIDER707]

The best reporting on the subject comes from an airline pilot on his days off. Traditional media has failed us.

[@artstrology]

Thats why we keep telling people to stop watching MSM. People like Juan will fill the gap when the habit changes. And here he is.

[@TreeLBollingTreeMan]

Well here's an update! Gavin Newsom rejects PG&E bankruptcy plan, demands ‘radically restructured’ CA utility!!! www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article238350708.html

[@dougryan9529]

@@TreeLBollingTreeMan Newsom is a complete clown show! Just like nadless!

[@artstrology]

@@mitchmoe6224 On this issue, Orange Mans solution was to rake the forest. go get your rake.

[@artstrology]

@@TreeLBollingTreeMan The utility neglected the maintenance, cost lives and now wants to skip town with the cash. I would hold them accountable also.

[@kevinmeyer3884]

For the power company to let those components get that worn out is criminal ! Yet no one's going to jail

[@flightisallright]

Yeah, you would think they would know which failure-points there are and thus conclude that flying past the tower in a helicopter is totally inadequate.

[@RS-ls7mm]

Its what happens when politicians make technical decisions. No money for maintenance and irrational environmental laws.

[@railroad9000]

Basically PG&E has committed manslaughter in the deaths and yet no one will be held accountable. Jail or prison time is in order I think!

[@afriedli]

@@RS-ls7mm The problem is that people are increasingly voting in politicians that have the convictions of Greta Thunberg, and also her mental acuity, and somehow believe this will lead to good things rather than disaster.

[@RS-ls7mm]

@@afriedli I left because it was becoming increasingly clear that it was turning into an Idiocracy type state. The few remaining educated people don't stand a chance.

[@4af]

Wow - a real home run of a thoroughly researched report!

[@ziggy2shus624]

Where will all these billions of dollars come from to pay off PG&E's costs ......... the electric ratepayers. Electricity costs in Calf could go way up for the homeowners.

[@johnganshow5536]

Yup, Your rates are going way up...

[@ivermec-tin666]

Which is why it should be taken over as a public energy company. We are going to pay again for what we already paid for. Let the shareholders bear the burden, as they enjoyed the takings for the last several decades.

[@bradsanders6954]

@@johnganshow5536 Your the expert? Rules and regs are in place to prevent PG&E bumping cost due to their probems.

[@johnganshow5536]

@@bradsanders6954 Rules were made to be broken. Good luck with that...

[@johnganshow5536]

@@ivermec-tin666 Yup!!

[@Simpilot757]

Being that the transmission tower had not been inspected in, excuse me 18 years, is UN-acceptable. Good video Juan

[@ngallendoudieye3258]

USA has become a third-world country in many ways: Enron-style fraud, bureaucratic incompetence, ideology-driven leaders, failing infrastructure, and general lack of maintenance.

[@colincampbell767]

Maybe, just maybe if the company had not been forced to sell 'green energy' at a price that is lower that what it costs to produce it they would have had the money to cover maintenance. Remember that it's the PUC that sets the rates they can sell electricity for. And the really bad thing is that the state legislature passed a law that allows them to be sued for things that wasn't their fault. They are going to need an IPO when the exit bankruptcy (and I hope that Calpers does not get any kind of special treatment - they get the same amount per share of stock as the mom-and-pop shareholders. But California will game the system to ensure that Calpers investment is protected while all the other shareholders lose their entire investment). Who is going to be dumb enough to invest money into a company that will be sued into bankruptcy again in a few years?

[@ivermec-tin666]

@@colincampbell767 Even more than that, the deregulation scheme in CA required distributors to exit the power generation business. They were literally forced to sell power plants and to stop building new ones. This is an unsustainable model. Even if you permitted these distributors to operate on a cost-plus basis (which will never happen) it is not a rational or sustainable model. A power system needs to have planned over capacity of near 15% to accommodate shut downs for maintenance and heat/cold waves. We don't have that under the current regulatory schema.

[@colincampbell767]

@@ivermec-tin666 In Texas Oncor is the company that owns and operates the transmission infrastructure. They also sell electricity. However other companies can also sell electricity and Oncor charges a fee to cover the costs of transmitting it. This allows people to shop around and choose the plan they like.

[@ivermec-tin666]

@@colincampbell767 At a quick glance Oncor looks like a house of cards to me. It is set up as a REIT. I understand that this is done for tax purposes; but REIT's were created as speculative ventures to permit the purchase and sale of shares, thus reducing the risk of investors. REIT's are about buying, operating, and selling real estate. This is a very different business model than an Electric Distribution Grid; where perprtual ownership of real estate is a critical pre-condition to the operation of the grid in perpetuity. The participation of Siemens in Oncor is far from reassuring. Siemens has a long history of shady backroom dealings around the globe. There was talk of a scheme similar to what you describe in California too. But, the Enron fleecing on the one hand, and the State sponsored push for rooftop solar put an end to such options in California. The two major private power companies in California are so afraid of the spectre of public ownership that they managed to get the State Legislature to ban the formation of any new publicly owned power companies in this state several years ago. San Francisco had been threatening to take control of the grid. They finally figured out that since the City owns the Hetch Hetchy water system, and the hydroelectric generation facilities that are in that system; that selling that power to PGandE, to have them deliver it, and having multiple fatalities annually when transformers literally blow up in downtown San Francisco... just doesn't make economic sense. The power generation capacity of the Hetch Hetchy water system exceeds the demand for electricity in the City of San Francisco. But, PGandE is also headquartered in San Francisco; and is a major political donor. Ironically, the cheapest electricity in Northern California is distributed in the wealthiest city in Northern California; where they have had a public power company for generations; Palo Alto.

[@darioman69]

“For the want of a nail the shoe was lost, For the want of a shoe the horse was lost, For the want of a horse the rider was lost, For the want of a rider the battle was lost, For the want of a battle the kingdom was lost, And all for the want of a horseshoe-nail.” ― Benjamin Franklin

[@blancolirio]

That's it!

[@checkthecoding]

First time I understand what the elements that failed look like. Very informative and interesting visuals you found and selected. Thanks as always for the outstanding quality of reporting.

[@tomreese1336]

Great report Juan, I've been with you since early Oroville, please never stop doing what you are doing! For a dozen years, I had a ranch near Gustine, CA with two sets of high tension lines crossing the ranch. Twice PG&E rented an acre or so from us for a lay-out yard and landing zone for helicopters. First, to do insulator replacement on a 500KV set of lines, then to upgrade a 250KV set of towers and lines to 500KV. The work is all done with helicopters, nobody climbs towers if they need to get on more than a couple. The chopper has a 'leash' about 50' long the crew clips onto and the helicopter lands them on top of the tower, then brings their tools to them the same way. When finished on that tower, it moves them to the next. I have great photos and video I can share, but won't send them unless you want me to because of spam/virus worries. I have the greatest respect for PG&E and their crews, I blame the CPUC and Sacramento trying to dictate to the company. Of course, after the fires start, they are silent.

[@sd906238]

The linemen wear a metal mesh suit. All that power in flowing through the suit. The same power that will knock you out your Keds and turn you blacker than Toby's a$$.

[@tonto2009]

I can comment on inspections as a retired lineman. I worked for a public utility in British Columbia Canada. Generally we had 3 types of inspections on the transmission lines, whether wood structures or steel towers. Drive by was done with a pickup truck and binoculars, looking at the poles and hardware at each location. Climbing was the done to have a closer look at the hardware and we would still take a pair on binoculars to see wear such as the hooks that failed here. Helicopters allowed us to cover much more distance but with somewhat less detail. Usually we would be looking for flashed glass as the result of lightning storms passing by. I have to say while we certainly did have wear on the hooks and other hardware it was caught way before damage resulted in failure. As time passed each line inspection was more thorough. Drive by, helicopter and finally a climbing inspection. During my travels in the USA I always look up, and am amazed by the difference in maintenance at investor owned utilities. Very little tree trimming and poles and equipment way past their useful life. Good luck

[@blancolirio]

Thanks Tonto!

[@harveycedar2930]

Insulated wire doesn't have the same current carrying capacity as bare wire, this is why bare wire is used. The insulation retains heat causing the wire to run hotter.

[@mikentx57]

That is what I was thinking. How does this hold up to any heat the cable may have? Also, how would it hold up to a lightning strike. Dripping flaming plastic is a fire hazard too.

[@charlesaanonson3954]

@@postulator890 A larger diameter means more wind resistance as well.

[@donmoore7785]

Just like the Oroville Spillway, very lax maintenance and failure to inspect was a critical factor.

[@aquasurfer9]

Love the report. Just had my first anniversary with my solar panels. I DIYd my 21 - 327w array with solar optimizers and a sense house monitoring system. WIthout panel by panel monitoring, I could have saved $1875. My cost with monitoring was $5400. They generated 8010 kwh. For me in Texas it made my max power bill during any month $57. I figured out my payback at 8010 kwh x 11c x 1.3 tax rate + 3%. Power paid with after tax income, 3% estimated monthly payback. So return on my investment was about $1150. Most people pay more than 11c per kwh. If any DIYers put up a few panels using enphase DC to AC converters on each panel, the use of power from the grid would be reduced especially during peak power demand as the panels are at max output when the load is highest. A 400w modern panel is $150, a DC to AC inverter enphase IQ7Plus is $150 and ironridge racking is about $100.. So $400 for 400w. Here is texas I now have the multiplier of 1167 hrs x 400w = 467kw per year. That is 467 .2 x 1.3 tax rate + 3% = $125 per year per panel. I am using 20 c per watt. It is probably alot more with a small array as it will be shaving the peaks off and knocking you off the higher tier useage rate. I was at the 500kwh per month base except during 1 month when I went into the level 2 tier. I don't get any credits and gave the grid about $175 in power last year. If I went through the rebate program it would have cost $21000 after tax credits and rebates. A no win for consumers! The racking (Ironridge) is available through electrical supply houses. The largest in the nation has them. This PG&E problem and the bureaucrats seem to decrease chances of a common sense solution to California's power problem. The rules of putting up a solar panel are 8 years behind current technology. These new enphase inverters clip under each panel and generate 240v AC synched to the grid. No more DC wiring which has issues of connection and voltage drop. A 12ga UV rated wire can handle about 4kw. IT plugs into a breaker. Done. No cutoff boxes needed, no special connectors. The panels shut off when the grid goes down. All the draconian rules are based on 8 year old tech. These inverters have been out a year. I put LED strips in my ceiling for even lighting. The power useage was so low I used 18 ga thermostat wire to power the lighting. 24v 8ft Leds in an Aluminum channel with diffuser and giving me RGBWW with remote used under 2 amps. In the HVAC industry this wiring is rated at 4 amp capacity for running the relays, circuit boards and tstat. No brainer. As technology changes increase in speed, The code process has slowed up due to well just too many government employees drinking coffee and chatting in their cubicles. I am an entrepreneur and drink coffee while driving and on speakerphone. Chatting is while walking through a jobsite with customer and others needing to know thoughts on getting the job done. We change and entire HVAC system in 4 hours. I see big companies doing it in 9. California needs a 3 month group that is made up of multiple people from 6 or more disciplines that dump all of the problems, use a mindmap technique to create bubbles that are grouped, then come up with solutions. Learned that in one of my MBA classes. Took 10 months to crank out that degree at San Jose State. I now take off 3 months a year and live a nice lifestyle. I think the Code needs fixin. Each square meter in california gets 1000kw of energy from the sun. Panels are now at 23%. 230kw per year per square meter of panels. It isn't an alternative.form of energy. Optimizing the distribution of power is supposed to be done by the grid. The little fiefdoms and their zealots are the problem. Fix it!

[@concerned1313]

1. I work in the oil well servicing industry and we use shackles (clovis pins) which are similar to what I just viewed on your report-video here. To not check something that moves like that visually in 18 to 19 years in the Feather River is criminal. We have rigs that work close to the ocean and offshore and we check those rigs more often then other rigs due to the wear from salt. It is for liability that we do that. 2. I do not want the State of California to take over PG and E. It will totally be inept if the state does a take over which Newsome is threatening now. 3. Keeping up with the distribution is a priority more then where the energy is coming from, whether it is green or not. They are ramming down some of this green energy before the technology matures and becomes profitable. *Thank you Juan, your summary and reporting is right on!

[@georgekraus9357]

Public utility companies need oversight to make sure they are doing their job. In Maryland for example, the electrical company (PEPCO - Potomac Electrical Power Company)) failed to regularly trim back the trees away from the lines. They had the fund to do the job but they moved the money to other parts of budget (which was illegal). Maryland citizens would suffer many power failures during summer storms because PEPCO neglected to trim back the trees.

[@colincampbell767]

The California Public Utilities Commission has over 12,000 employees. Many if you made them actually do their jobs?

[@LIamaLlama554]

Colin Campbell Juan said 1200

[@Bryan-Hensley]

Seems like the Democratic ran states are having serious issues

[@flybyairplane3528]

George Kraus , Gergen hello, just like n south NJ NJPL, , after a serious summer storm , they were blamed, & so began an aggressive tree trimming in their service area,

[@colincampbell767]

@@LIamaLlama554 You're right. My bad.

[@wallacegrommet9343]

My brother has been a PGE lineman for over ten years, and began his career doing high tension transmission line maintenance. But management emphasizes new construction work to get more new customers online. So the most experienced linemen are stuck in residential and the supply infrastructure goes neglected. There simply aren’t enough lineman to go around.

[@Atka59]

I"m sorry to say it, but I gave up on Cal and moved to WA when I noticed the news media permanently "out to lunch" 15 years ago. Maybe with the advent of Citizen Watchdog Reporters like yourself things can get turned around. Your the model of how to do it right Juan; a modern day champion of the people!

[@cb2000a]

The so called MsM is very unreliable.

[@johncaywood5888]

The work you are doing on the ground is invaluable in keeping your local citizenry informed and inspired to seek out real facts and figures as opposed to accepting whatever is printed in the monthly electric bill as a diversion to noticing what you are actually paying for your power. Of course you know that infrastructure maintenance (not really into the improvement stage yet) is going to be costly, but you do not and should not be expected to “foot the bill” (as my late mother would say) while profits are being distributed to shareholders when lousy transmission equipment is extended yet another year beyond its projected lifespan. The unfair thing about our system is that the folks who pocketed the profits that should have been plowed into the infrastructure are not held liable in the bankruptcy proceedings. I suppose folks’ opinion here is informed by which side of the fire line they are on. Keep up the great reporting, Juan.

[@silverstake88]

"My names' Juan Brown and you're watching the Blancolirio REAL NEWS channel." 👍👍

[@mellissadalby1402]

Thanks for answering my question before I even asked it. Now it makes sense why these wires are on towers and not underground.

[@Sir.VicsMasher]

Thank you for this honest news update especially since KZbin deemed your channel as "Un-happy news" resulting in less monetization. It is only going to get worse and hope you stick around until your dying breath. (when they outright delete your channel like it never existed) Its OK for the mainstream to report on an incident involving fatalities on the main page but if you do the same thing it will get demonetized.

[@TreeLBollingTreeMan]

Well here's an update! Gavin Newsom rejects PG&E bankruptcy plan, demands ‘radically restructured’ CA utility!!! www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article238350708.html

[@dahobbs9]

Screw KZbin

[@beerguy1320]

One of the best ways to make America great again is to fix our infrastructure! Politics aside (it is a political issue I know!) as a Wisconsinite I look forward to seeing California the nations leader in infrastructure. The word says it all. It forms the basis for prosperity shared by all. Great reporting Juan. Keep beating that drum!

[@roberttoltowicz9452]

Thanks Juan. So sad that the CPUC is not being held accountable.

[@liveyourbestlife1513]

Government works just like any other corporation with the main difference that you cannot choose to abstain from paying them for their services.

[@liveyourbestlife1513]

@Anton Zuykov PG&E has a monopoly, but their monopoly is managed by the Government, which has its own monopoly. Also, if you don't want to support PG&E, you can go without power or move. If you don't want the government, you still have to pay taxes, even when you leave the country. They can come after you and put you in jail if you refuse. That is not the case with PG&E. Finally, the government pretends to be as virtuous as the Boy Scouts. But PG&E claims no such thing.

[@liveyourbestlife1513]

@@steve57912 Guilty: Yes. Accountable: No.

[@TheClampettmobile]

Thank you for the informative report. PG+E isn't the same company I used to work for YEARS ago! Back then SERVICE was most important... unlike now with top priority for pensions of executives.

[@raymondstrom7686]

You nailed it Juan. Expertise is being lost in so many areas. Science is dying and we think we're advancing.

[@calichef1962]

What do you expect from a country in which some school SCIENCE classes are allowed to teach that dinosaurs and humans walked the earth-- at the _same time?_ Almost half of our elected officials CLAIM that climate change is a hoax, when every rational person with an education and access to records can clearly see how the climate has already changed just over the last 50 years! We've almost reached the tipping point from which there will be no return. There will be no stopping the worst storms, with a new "worst storm of the century" every damn year.

[@raymondstrom7686]

@@calichef1962 We'll see in 12 years. I'm TERRIFIED!!!! Curiously, I experienced this kind of weather 60-65 years ago, and my father experienced the 1930s, when global temperatures were much hotter than today, and storms and tornados were present then. We use the word "unprecedented" extremely loosely and 100-year or 1,000-year storm loosely as well, when we have little idea from a truly scientific perspective. Ice core records and other proxy data indicates that the earth was hotter, when CO2 levels were low, and colder, when CO2 levels were high. 150 years of records, and 45 million thermometer measurements in Canada indicate no substantive temperature changes in Canada over that time period, and the much larger database in the U.S. shows the same outcome. I will make a prediction and you can check this in 12 years. THE EARTH WILL STILL BE HERE AND BE ABOUT THE SAME AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OR LESS IN 12 YEARS. PLEASE REMEMBER THIS.

[@calichef1962]

@@raymondstrom7686 I'm not saying there aren't weather cycles, absolutely there ARE. I've been through many flood and drought cycles living here in northern California my whole life. But climate change is a horse of a different color to these wet/dry cycles. Already the droughts are dryer and longer, or the clouds are dumping record amounts of rain and snow. Tides are getting higher, ocean currents are changing and the formerly vast stores of ice in arctic regions INCLUDING THE PERMAFROST are melting at unprecedented rates. And still we keep pumping carbon into the air, which brings us back to the 30% of Americans who say they don't believe. Funny thing is, even the POTUS, a vociferous proponent of the Chinese Climate Change Hoax conspiracy theory, is quietly preparing his many ocean-front properties around the world for much higher tides.

[@raymondstrom7686]

@@calichef1962 Then tell me why Barach Obama bought beachfront on Martha's Vineyard. My friends and relatives in California and in Vancouver Canada are not rushing to sell their properties. Tide gages record no unusual increases, and Sweden's sea levels, which are not included in the data sets, are actually going down. The Battery in New York tide gages are constant at 2.8 mm/decade as they have been for 150 year's of recording. Miami Beach is still there, unchanged, and the Maldives, which were to have been submerged by now, are being bought up by the Saudis for resort development. There is a huge disconnect here. Go back and read the Grapes of Wrath. Droughts were the worst worldwide in the 1890s, then it was the 1930s worldwide and later it was the worst. There are valid records by U.S. weather bureau and other official records that clearly demonstrate that we have not even come close to the droughts of the Roman Warm or the Medieval Warm either, both of which lasted for decades.

[@calichef1962]

@@raymondstrom7686 OK. You still don't understand the difference between weather and climate. Oh, and all those rich folks who build on the beaches of this country can do so because our government guarantees their homeowners' insurance. We ALL subsidize the rich people living in mansions on our beaches. So they don't care if the next "Nor-Easter" or hurricane strikes their beach mansions, the tax payers will pay for their homes to be built back better than they were before.

[@mcconkeyb]

I'm an electrical engineer, and I've been unemployed for 7 years now. It would seem that the bean counters and the lawyers have full control of the technical systems and the technical people are being relegated to asking "would you like fries with that?".

[@johnpreisler6713]

Love you, love your show. Heal quickly, heal well.

[@TheNimshew]

I was talking to a young carpenter on a new house project in Paradise last week. (I've been a Plumber in Paradise for 38 years) He and his pregnant wife just bought a home in the un-burnt part of Magalia. I asked him. "How much is your fire insurance going to be?" He laughed and said, "We just had that settled for our mortgage. $2700.00 a year!" Ouch! If there's a fire hydrant across the street, it's $75 a month.

[@pplusbthrust]

Produce green all you want but the power still has to be distributed on wire held up by towers and poles.

[@Wallyworld30]

Captain DeStructo I’m sure DIY guys will have used all safety precautions. /sarcasm

[@mitchellroberts7954]

Better yet, ask anyone in the solar industry and they'll tell you the upkeep on solar farms is astronomical. Inverters fail at the 5-10 year mark and usually get replaced. Imagine the waste being produced just replacing central and string inverters for solar. It does NOT make sense. What makes sense is to populate space and farm it for resources. We could produce earth a billion times over if we focused on the real solution.

[@bobraible]

A major problem is the distance all of this green energy is produced from its point of use. This puts additional loads on transmission lines. Overloaded lines get hot and droop, increasing odds of interaction with tree limbs. I believe this was mentioned in the report following the failure of the Pacific Intertie in 1996.

[@rothschildwarbankgenocidal7847]

Solar panels on roofs combined with a battery bank allows people to be off the grid. Own your power supply and save money too.

[@yoman5136]

Well......only during the day or year when the wind blows.

[@markviereck4547]

I live in Florida. FPL is our power company. They are constantly upgrading the lines, poles etc. all the wooden poles in my area are gone and replaced by steel and concrete. The service is unbelievable. I called last month at 10:30 at night and told them my lights were dimming up and down. They were out at my house at 12:30 am. Had the problem fixed in an hour. Then came back in a week and put a new underground cable i in.

[@garywheeler7039]

25 billion could have paid for a lot of prevention.

[@nick21614]

@Gjhammer Gjhammer You do know that PG&E is just going to raise rates to make up for it so joke is on the California residents in the end.

[@nick21614]

@Gjhammer Gjhammer You cant let a monopoly power company fail, they know that. They will go get a spa treatment called bankruptcy and tell the government to let them raise rates and the gov will do it in exchange for a job after office or political contributions. Thats how this works :)

[@nick21614]

@Gjhammer Gjhammer Yes I agree.

[@OceanSwimmer]

Juan, every time I tune in, I learn something valuable. Thank you so much for this presentation! Well done!

[@nathanpizzo9444]

Wow. That is a sobering report. This is also very re-assuring that my gut sense that renewable energy was taking a wild irrational pace was correct. Common sense might be rare, but some of us still got it. That includes you Juan. Yet another great video! One of the very BEST news channels out there!

[@johannmckraken9399]

Thank you Juan, you are providing a tremendous public service and we appreciate all your efforts.👍🏻

[@quintonsmith8164]

Another brilliant common sense unbiased report!!! You should start you own network!!!!

[@dobermanpac1064]

Thanks Juan, Great Breakdown. Living on the East Coast I rely on your honest reporting. We all have an opinion and I’ll not share, however, your comments on the upper management being bean counters seems to be the business model of most companies now a days. Continued prayers for health, thanks again. 😎

[@bahopp9872]

Nice job Juan. A great explanation of a fire situation.

[@christopherestrada8576]

I just have to say thanks again for being one of the most thoughtful and researched journalists of our age. Your videos are refreshingly factual and pointed. Stay safe out there!

[@menow.]

Holy crap... what negligence!

[@Astro49flyer]

Thank you Juan for the comprehensive update. Not only will it take decades to replace the existing old infrastructure, the new replacements will themselves have to be replaced in due course as well. A vicious cycle!

[@yhird]

Stock?!?! I would say no thank you. Anyone who know anything about stocks knows that stocks can be devalued to zero either through mismanagement or by diliberate action.

[@timgear9892]

I doubt if the Judge would give a plaintiff the option of stock or cash.

[@colincampbell767]

Yea newly-issued stock in a company that is likely to be sued into bankruptcy again. Not only that but that stock brings in exactly zero money to the company. Companies issue IPOs to raise capital. As a result the value of any shares they do sell will be diluted by the value of the stocks they gave out but got no money in return. I'm not seeing a 'path forward' that will lead to a healthy company. And these lawsuits do not include the lawsuits from the people who recently lost power for several days. That's another huge pot of money that PG&E doesn't have. So we are going to see an IPO of a company that may be sued into bankruptcy again and the amount money you paid for the stock is 1/3rd (or more) greater than the net asset value of the stock. (Net asset value is the value of all the assets of the company less liabilities divided by the number of outstanding share of stock. Would you pay $15 for a share of stock when the share of the company that stock represents is only worth $10?

[@timgear9892]

@@colincampbell767 Sir, you are totally correct. I forsee the only solution is a government take over(State of California) of PG&E...Their stock at best should be valued at pennies by investors looking for a hail mary company.

[@yhird]

@@colincampbell767 Great points. If California stays true to its socialist ideology, it may go the route of Venezuela and assume ownership of the utility companies one by one. We shall see.

[@timgear9892]

@@scottyb5636 I would suspect a very small group of PG$E techs and supervisors knew of the problems caused due to winds, brush, and resultant public outrage when the evidence of fire starters became public...Now what they did with their inside information, well, perhaps there is more to come from this sorid story of failures. Perhaps some criminal fiduciary failures of top management?

[@Daren_PNW]

I'm a CAD drafter in an engineering power consulting company and I can't imagine how many calcs the T-Line engineers run. For high wind Cali conditions, the wind loads are transmitted through the wires, the connection tower hardware, the tower steel itself, the tower anchor bolts, etc, down to the ground.

[@sleepingdogs8939]

Another great update on the infrastructure problems with PG&E.

[@petasyd]

Really interesting and informative piece about PG&E. We do need more "explain the issue" journalism, like this. One suggestion to make your argument more effective: blaming green energy procurement as the reason for not investing in electrical is too simplistic and not accurate. Three days ago, it was reported auditors found PG&E diverted $123 Million between 2007-2016 from undergrounding lines to...they don't know, can't find the money. They also have diverted money for executive pay, and moreover, for incredible dividends for investors for decades. PG&E has done similar minimal maintenance on the gas side of their business, and it came well before the green energy bills. Anyway, great job calling attention to this issue of PG&E, and since it's a developing story, it's worth revisiting again soon.

[@joshuamichael8345]

So, what you're saying is that it all boils down to the greed and incompetence of our public servants. I wish I could say I'm surprised. The swamp is everywhere.

[@gittar]

Yet another great report in language i understand. So, I moved to the Missouri Ozarks in May 2018 from Paradise (prior to the fire. The topology is just only a little different with our mountains being older, and lower. Although, Missouri, like every state, is wrangling with aging infrastructure on top of a still poor economy, I've noticed a couple of differences that mean a great deal to me in electric service. First, there's not monolithic power company dictating cost to me... around the Branson area, there are co-ops that work together and with and through the customer. With that regard, my cost are up to 50% cheaper than when I was in California. The other difference, that at least in these hills around me, the wire paths are clear cut, no slash, and mowed.. they are actually almost park-like. I've been in here two summers, with no HUGE forest fire. We have had some brush fire near small communities, but not any that looked like Cali... and when fire occurs, they throw everything, and i mean everything at them.

[@stealtheli]

Great job. In Colorado our D- is our roads. As a 50+ person I remember as a kid think some of our Bridges were old. Now they are falling apart. Anyway Awesome Job

[@ruabadkitty]

Good Luck Cal. Sorry for all your losses. Thank you for the great reporting.

[@thomasstratton4259]

Please talk to specialists about the life of the insulation for the distribution wires. I think you will find that it is much less than 80 yrs.

[@thomasstratton4259]

@ Hi James, If you listen to min 12:40 and following of the video Juan talks about PG&E replacing uninsulated distribution lines with insulated ones.

[@Gabbiegirlpup]

As usual, excellent information and reporting. I have an idea: Training and retraining programs for unemployed citizens and/or young HS graduates who may not want to enter into the university system. More linemen (women / PEOPLE) to work the infrastructure just as we did in this nation when we originally BUILT it. Everything old becomes new. Pay these people what they are worth - I can think of a million ways to do this, or at least 100 and it starts with the people in Washington. Thanks, Juan, you do a great job. Praying for complete recovery of your health.

[@harrowtiger]

The erosion on the insulator hooks and hangers is an expensive and sad life lesson to all. Regrets from me.

[@tiredoldmechanic1791]

The first thing that bean counters do is cut back on maintenance as they are looking at maximizing profits in the short term to get their bonuses and get out. In any business, the janitor is the first one cut instead of the highly paid CEOs who do nothing. The power lines that feed my house have been covered by trees for several years to the point where I could see them sparking during rainstorms. I reported them and was told that they trim along the lines every 5 years. I've lived here for 40 years and have only seem them trimmed once. They finally showed up this week to trim. I talked to the workers about how the power company said they were trimmed every 5 years and they said that the growth they were trimming was at least 10 years or 15 years worth. The power company doesn't have their own crews anymore but hire a tree service to do it. They have also cut back on the number of repair crews they have to handle service outages despite the number of homes and businesses they serve increasing. They hire outside companies to do their line work.

[@radioactivelarry]

PG&E customers will pay big time, they want their billions back and that stinking California Public Utilities Commission will let them do it! Glad I have SMUD & Solar. Great narration Juan.

[@catherinenelson4162]

I was at a government meeting in San Francisco once and one of my fellow Sacramento employees brought up SMUD and the room erupted in laughter! None of the Bay Area folks had heard of SMUD and were quite right in thinking that it's got an awful acronym 😥🤗

[@colincampbell767]

Of course the ratepayers are the ones who are going to have to pay for the settlement. Because they are bankrupt - and the thing you really need to be concerned about is if they are a 'going concern' (a business that's likely to still be around in a couple of years). Because nobody is going to lend them any money or buy their IPO if they are not confident that the company will turn a profit. All of the stockholders are going to lose their entire investment. And the next round of stockholders are going to need some kind of gurantee from the California govrenment that their investment will not be looted in the next lawsuits.

[@crissd8283]

They filed for bankruptcy so clearly they dont have any money to spend on infrastructure improvements. The only person that can pay is the customer (us) in higher bills or the tax payer (us again) in higher taxes. It's not magic, someone has to pay the linemen to maintain the line and he ain't cheap. The only ones who will get rich of this are the lawyers and the politicians because they always get rich.

[@colincampbell767]

@@crissd8283 The problem is that Trump is an extreme exception to the issue of the people who run the govrenment and are elected officials don't have any hands-on' business expierence. The vast majority of them are career bureaucrats and lawyers.

[@radioactivelarry]

@@catherinenelson4162 That's funny considering they have East Bay Municipal Utility District (EMUD).

[@jediali221]

Coming from Scotland this is exactly what I was needing to know. Great work.

[@killcrashkill]

Juan missed one thing. PG&E cut back maintenance and at the same time still paid out dividends to investors until 2017. This is roughly equivalent to operating 737 with 100,000 cycles and cutting back on maintence, while paying dividends to investors. Once again PG&E earns their nickname, People Greatest Enemy.

[@ononotagain]

Fascinating topic, terrific reporting. Keep up the great work, Juan. You make us all smarter.

[@calichef1962]

I really don't know what PG&E is going to do. The transmission lines and towers are only a part of the infrastructure that PG&E has neglected for far too long. There is a PG&E project in my own back yard that has been waiting almost three years now! When the new buyer of the building next to my house bought his property he didn't like my one fruitless mulberry tree. My landlord has hated the tree since he bought the place and has wanted to cut it down. When the new neighbor offered to pay for the tree's removal my landlord jumped on it. Well, to make a long story short, the tree company broke through the gas line that serves about 10 users, they had to evacuate the whole block, repair the break and promise to come back in the summer to replace all the gas lines from the alley, through my yard, past my front door, and into my side yard where all the gas meters are located. Well, I've patiently waited through TWO summers now, and STILL haven't heard a word from PG&E!!!

[@franklinwerren7684]

Preventive maintenance, I see it all the time in my specific area of expertises. Poles that are rotted is a big issue. Seen some areas that have not been touched since the 1930’s. Trees that need trimming... Bad regulators and insulators. Use a weak AM station and see how noisy the lines are.

[@desertfoxx1823]

When you mentioned about deferred maintenance it reminds me of a documentary I watched about Penn Central. All their problems boiled down to lack of money and 'deferred maintenance'. Well, we all know what happened to PC.

[@easttexan2933]

This is a huge problem Juan. Thanks for bringing all this to our attention.

[@thomaslemay8817]

More than 20 years a middle management person told me that knowledge in a technical field was not necessary to run the business, I replied we will see. Now it is plan as day he was wrong ! Anb still is wrong!

[@garydinn8793]

You nailed it with this comment. How did our business executives learn to set up organizations that are blind to good engineering input? This type of short term thinking has resulted in a huge technical deficit that may possibly extend to many other industries as well. Scary!

[@jwb2814]

Thomas LeMay Hell to the yeah

[@moci42]

Thanks for update. I also passed this video along to our local FB as a heads up. Thanks again.

[@MrGTO-ze7vb]

DOES PG&E HAVE AN INSURANCE COMPANY/POLICY? They can do inspections with many DRONES today..!! Thank you JUAN for another great review of FACTS..!!

[@317926584]

You hit the nail on the head when you talk about people holding responsible positions who have no background as to the industry that they are in. One of the scourges of modern society - all they require is to be well connected!

[@flybyairplane3528]

Juan, great report, given the debacle, with your power company, this now has nothing to do with that, not sure if you heard, but some bodies were found in the ANTSRTIC OCEA OM THATNMISSING C130, also found was some lining. Material, from the fuel tanks, this I read 2 days ago from the JAMAICA -GLEANER, the main newspaper there. Merry Christmas,,to you & your family, God Bless, Cheers From NJ

[@alanmorris7634]

Awesome factual report. Management by bureaucrats is certainly a problem that plagues us all

[@animal16365]

Deferred maintenance, cost increases, less people getting into the job market.

[@jwb2814]

The comment section on this vid is awesome. Thanks to those who are knowledgeable in this area for taking the time to post.

[@ElizabethKinetz]

Thanks for another great, informative video!

[@suesmith5746]

Juan thanks for the great info as always, and thank you for getting Santa Barbara Chocolate as a sponsor. I just sent them an order and it was here in 3 days. In South Dakota it gets very cold in the winter and there is nothing better than sitting next to a wood burning stove and sipping fresh organic hot chocolate while your brownies are baking in the dutch oven on top of stove, (we do have electricity except the poles snap off in ice storms in winter and high winds in the summer so you can expect power outages that last a week or two every once in a while). Happy Holidays to you and your family.

[@kimmer6]

That was an enjoyable read! As it happened, I spent the last 3 days at a rustic 1938 built wooden cabin at Steep Ravine near Stinson Beach, California. Its 20 miles North of the Golden Gate Bridge. The cabins are on a bluff overlooking a rather rough ocean. It was foggy and rained heavily at times but the wood stove kept us toasty warm. I broke into the bag of Santa Barbara Chocolates White Belgian chips and darned hear ate half the bag watching huge waves break against the rocks.

[@bill6590]

Great video. I was one of the infrastructure experts that found the causes of the great San Diego fires in 2009. The largest fires is Calif. history up to that time. I was stunned by the terrible Calif. Public Utiities regulations. They are awful, and mostly written in the 1950s by the railroad companies. I warned them then, that if they did not do something about these rotten regulations. Calif. would continue to have massive wildfires & utility disasters; and I was right. Note: Electric Cos. only design their facilities to last 30 years. Not 60 plus as stated in this video. PG&E is just running around in circles, chasing ducks. None of their actions or proposals will work: zero! The entire transmission systems in fire prone areas needs to be replaced, or put underground. Which is a lot easier than stated by PG&E. I've done it myself in major granite rock locations & mountain area very similar to this fire's location. The costs are a lot less than the $30 Billion they are spending on these self caused disasters. Calif. needs to eliminate the entier PUC and replace all of them with infrastucture professionals. People in the business of building and maintaining utilities. And, not these political hacks getting State jobs. In summary; Calif. got exactly what it asked for; by electing these ignorant greenie crooks and putting them into power. Calif. has become the laughing stock of America. Only a few other States allows this amount of foolishness in the PSC or PUC. All of those too have gotten the same results: awful utiliites, disasters and high bills.

[@charlesoneil8559]

And the annual budget of the PUC is $1.6 billion.

[@lizj5740]

@@charlesoneil8559 According to the California Legislative Analysts Office website, that 2018-2019 proposed budget amount is $200 million _less_ than the 2017-2018 budget for the PUC.

[@heardian78]

Juan, I hope you are working directly with our local Representatives ( City>County> State>>Fed ) on these local infrastructure issues, because the Government doesn't understand it.

[@higgydufrane]

Thanks for the clear reporting.

[@chadandrews98]

Top PG&E execs got $11 million in bonuses in 2018 and in 2017 they also got hefty pay hikes. Thanks Juan for accurate information

[@TheGbelcher]

This is my favorite channel on KZbin

[@dougryan9529]

Mine too!

[@jerryforeman4543]

Thanks Juan for another fine report on the California electric system!

[@raybankes7668]

they could use drones when the winds allow and get good photographic evidence quickly and safely and really know the condition of the componants.

[@JeffCounsil-rp4qv]

All they need to do is keep a log and inventory. "X" tower is "X" amount of years old so it needs repaired, hooks/plates updated, and structural integrity verified. Log it, and move to the next oldest, and so on. Areas prone to higher and more constant winds need maintenance sooner because of faster wearing. Yes, using drones can be useful indeed, and I am sure some are being used in some areas. But you hit on the biggest problem, the weather and windy conditions. A ground based camera can do the job by a photographer using good telescopic lenses. Without worrying as much about the wind. Way cheaper than a helicopter, though slower.

[@tomscott1159]

@@JeffCounsil-rp4qv Drone systems are being trialed, perfected and put into place now. It is but one part of a huge project to restore control over the neglected maintenance issue. I fear that insulating lines is likely a mistake. If lines are expected to have a 60 year life, ask yourself if insulation will be trustworthy in wind, sun, rain, and snow for that time. Perhaps a line buried in the ground, but one exposed to motion and the elements?

[@BrilliantDesignOnline]

@@JeffCounsil-rp4qv What!!? You mean use a database? But that would put the spiritual medium they hired to predict maintenance out of work, and might confuse the younger employees, because of, you know, numbers, and all that; they might have to go to their safe rooms.

[@JeffCounsil-rp4qv]

@@tomscott1159 I think using insulated wire is a bad idea in many ways. Mainly because of the added weight and cost. The weight will come into play more so during high wind events adding more stress to the existing (added) stress to poles of the weight alone. Wooden poles can only take so much to and fro before snapping. But on the flip side, it might help when trees or branches hit the lines to prevent arcing. But then again, more added weight from the tree or branches can bring poles down. Then you have live wires on the ground, another serious hazard. As far as the steel towers go, insulating any struts, and/or sleeves on the cable that could possibly come in contact with the high voltage lines to prevent any sparking in the event of a possible hook/plate failure. Since everything has been left go to hell in favor of profits for so long, anything that needs done will be a monumental undertaking. I feel bad for Juan, and all the good people of Cali being the bearers of the brunt financially for this whole debacle. IMO, PG&E has become an ogre and should be broken up into bite sized chunks. They're too big and just plain can't handle the maintenance and improvement expenses and have become unsustainable as a business. The problem with that is nobody wants to invest in buying a part of it because of the Government in Cali.. They put all businesses in constant tailspins changing the regulations and moving the goalposts with incompetent, knee-jerk legislation, and pushing for "go green" with no common sense approaches.

[@JeffCounsil-rp4qv]

@@BrilliantDesignOnline LOL!

[@rodmackenzie1450]

Thank you Juan for a concise update with no Bull ship!!!

[@TreeLBollingTreeMan]

Well here's an update! Gavin Newsom rejects PG&E bankruptcy plan, demands ‘radically restructured’ CA utility!!! www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article238350708.html

[@brianknecht3216]

My homeowners insurance was just canceled by my insurance company because I live in an area deemed at risk for wildfire in the SF Bay Area. Living a mile from the Hayward fault probably doesn’t help either.

[@TheNimshew]

Kensington?

[@brianknecht3216]

forty two Fremont

[@warty2200]

PG&E was one of the top 3 reasons I left my native California 12 years ago. The other 2 were the state and county governments and all of the unsolved problems those governments facilitated. The blatant failure of PG&E to maintain it's infrastructure is criminal, full stop.

[@RunFast64]

Guess what? These PG&E settlements mean higher power bills. This is a lose lose for CA power customers. Out of control government.

[@RunFast64]

@@_PatrickO The regulatory environment in CA is driving PG&E into the corner they are stuck in. Whatever.....I hope the voters enjoy the paradise they have created there. Next stop CA takeover of PG&E. All problems will be solved when that happens.

[@tomkehmeier3462]

A+ reporting Juan! And yes, the rest of the country needs to learn from California's mistakes...

[@jonljacobi]

BTW. Amazing research. You’ll never get anything like this on the mainstream news.

[@tonyolivieri6308]

thank you for saying this out loud!!! I appreciate all of your hard work and great research, thank you very much!!!

[@frankdamelio6618]

Using Drones to inspect towers may be an option going forward.

[@JohmScriv]

The wear on those hooks is just astonishing, thanks for sharing this info, it's very interesting.

[@tdgreenbay]

Wow.... how much the Lawyers getting... so how much are each PG&E customers gonna pay

[@tdgreenbay]

@@flagmichael any settlement is gonna be paid for by PG&E customer base in higher prices... stockholders and employees are not going to be paying any settlements... if you believe that you are very unintelligent sir...

[@edwinharvie6174]

Top quality journalism. Thanks again Juan

[@walteralter9061]

PG&E stock as payment?!!! Someone at the PUC needs to feel the will of the citizen. And while, you are at it, use hardened steel on them hooks.

[@tryonco]

Excellent report Juan! Thanks for the ongoing education. Keep up the good work!

[@Idahoguy10157]

I’m starting to wonder if California will have to build itself an economic Berlin Wall. To keep the middle class taxpayers from leaving with any wealth.

[@michaelguy7168]

How refreshing. You are able to breakdown the facts and tell the truth about this issue. Why does our Main Stream Media and Government spend Billions to lie to us? Keep it up, you are making a difference.

[@alaricvisigoth919]

Sad. I once loved Cali. Lived there off and on from the early 60's. Cousins all over the state. They are getting out.

[@lrwado8150]

Stellar report Juan, from this ex-Cali-for-52-years subscriber!

[@royreynolds108]

Any people migrating from Cali to Texas, please leave your socialist ideas in Cali or don't come here. We don't need or want that kind of disgust.

[@idiocracyishere4531]

Californias are brain washed by others idiots in the state. See the senators and reps sent to DC if you don’t think so.

[@insolentstickleback3266]

Excellent report! Thank You Juan.