Show Notes
After PG&E pled guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter in the 2018 Camp Fire, Patti Poppe was brought on as the utility’s new CEO. Her stated mission: to fix it.
Now, rising electricity prices, repeated power outages, and the growing impact of climate change have put PG&E in the crosshairs of the public and legislators. Again.
This summer, California lawmakers rejected a bill that would have capped the utility’s liability if their equipment sparks another fire. In response. PG&E announced it would defer roughly $2 billion in capital investments planned for 2027 as it works to strengthen its finances and, in Poppe’s words, “reinvent” the company. That means plans to connect new housing projects, clean energy initiatives, and some technology upgrades may be put on hold.
In a climate-changed world, is the investor-owned utility model still sustainable? Are utilities putting too much emphasis on profits at the expense of maintenance? And how do utilities across the country balance the needs for affordability, reliability, and climate resilience?
Guests:
Patti Poppe, CEO, Pacific Gas & Electric
Ryan Reed, Co-Founder, FireGeneration Collaborative
Kyle Trefny, Seasonal wildland firefighter; Co-Founder, FireGeneration Collaborative
For show notes, transcripts, and related links, visit our episode page.
00:00 – Introduction
03:30 – PG&E CEO on rising costs of electricity
06:50 – Is PG&E beholden to Wall Street instead of Main Street?
10:00 – Why the utility hasn’t put more power lines underground
12:00 – Poppe on how data centers could help normal ratepayers with lower costs
19:00 – Can the grid handle all this new demand from data centers and electrification?
20:45 – Wildfire risk and liability
27:30 – Customer outrage about power outages, more calls to break up PG&E
30:00 – How much would it cost for San Francisco to buy out PG&E
32:00 – Lightning round
40:00 – Ryan Reed and Kyle Trefny on history of wildfire and fire suppression
45:00 – Reed and Trefny on the work of FireGen Collaborative
49:00 – “Good fire” versus catastrophic, climate-fueled wildfires
57:00 – Climate One More Thing
On November 5 at 5:30 p.m., join Climate One and the Children & Nature Network for an evening with Richard Louv, author of the internationally bestselling Last Child in the Woods. Tickets are available at climateone.org/events
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