What if Utilities Are to Blame for Wildfires?
Energy Gang
Wood Mackenzie
4.6 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 21 November 2018
⏱️ 40 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
California has seen a million and a half acres of forest burned this year. As the state recovers from the devastating Camp Fire and Woolsey Fire, residents are looking for someone to blame.
Now attention turns to utilities. Both Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric are under investigation and facing class-action lawsuits for potentially starting the blazes.
What happens to utilities if they are found at fault? And how do you protect a vulnerable electric grid as these fire get worse and worse? We'll discuss.
Then, we’ll mark the Thanksgiving week in the second half of the show. We’ll each share our picks for the top turkey of 2018. Who made the biggest blunders this year?
Recommended reading:
- GTM: If Wildfires Drive PG&E Into Bankruptcy, What Happens to Renewable Energy Contracts?
- SF Chronicle: California Regulator Lays Groundwork for PG&E Bailout
- National Geographic: See How a Warmer World Primed California for Large Fires
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Energy Gang is brought to you by GE. |
| 0:03.0 | GE has a new energy storage system. |
| 0:05.0 | It is called Reservoir. |
| 0:06.0 | It's a modular lithium ion battery that can cut construction time by 50%. |
| 0:11.0 | The product itself is new, but it's the result of decades of innovation in software, power |
| 0:15.6 | electronics and systems design from the teams at GE. |
| 0:19.2 | Find out more about GE's reservoir battery storage system and what it can do for your project or your grid at |
| 0:25.1 | GE.com slash energy storage. That's GE.com slash energy storage. |
| 0:30.4 | From Green Tech Media storage. I'm Stephen Lacy. Welcome. This week the wildfire crisis in California. |
| 0:47.0 | Hundreds of thousands of acres were scorched, |
| 0:52.0 | thousands of homes were raised, hundreds are still missing, |
| 0:55.0 | and a major utility is on the verge of bankruptcy. |
| 0:58.0 | We'll discuss the most destructive wildfire in California history. |
| 1:02.0 | What happens if it was caused by utility equipment? |
| 1:05.2 | Then we'll mark the Thanksgiving week in the second half of the show. |
| 1:07.8 | We'll each share our picks for the top turkey of 2018, who made the biggest blunders of the year. With me around our virtual |
| 1:15.4 | dinner table is Catherine Hamilton and Jiggers Shaw. They are my regular co-host |
| 1:18.8 | Catherine is the chair of 38 North Solutions. She's in Washington DC. |
| 1:22.2 | Catherine what are you giving thanks for this week? North Solutions, she's in Washington, D.C. |
| 1:22.5 | Catherine, what are you giving thanks for this week? |
| 1:24.5 | Well, if I'm going to be silly, I'm giving thanks |
| 1:27.5 | that I only have to eat to FERCI once a year, |
... |
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