I know this sounds repetitious, for we have taken this journey before. It is, of course, the journey that incorporates Southern California Edison’s continued malfeasance in regard to their refusal to bury their powerlines in order to prevent them from falling to the ground and igniting yet another wildland fire that lays waste to an entire community and/or forested area, as has been alleged numerous times throughout Southern California, most recently in the Eaton Canyon Fire in Altadena, which was responsible for the deaths of 17 people and destruction of 9,414 structures.
Last week, Los Angeles County, as well as displaced residents of the hillside community, filed lawsuits against Edison, alleging that it is responsible for the blaze and that it “deliberately prioritized profits over safety,” despite knowing the extreme fire risk its equipment posed during a major windstorm. (They obviously need to listen to PG&E.)
I am a lineman for the county, and I drive the main road, searchin’ in the sun for another overload. I hear you singing in the wire, I can hear you through the whine and the Wichita lineman is still on the line. (“Wichita Lineman” – Glen Campbell – 1968)
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) has been riddled with, not just accusations, but lawsuits in regard to destructive fires, proved to be caused by their malfeasance in not properly maintaining their equipment or burying their powerlines. This has reportedly cost them over $13 billion they had to shell out for settling lawsuits related to at least three destructive Northern California wildfires since the disastrous 2017 Butte Fire.
Major providers of electric power complain that it would cost too much to abate the problem…sounds just like my wife. OK, so I got a note from PG&E CEO Patti Poppe the other day professing, “I know many of you think that undergrounding powerlines is driving up rates. But here’s the reality: On average, just $1 a month of your bill goes to undergrounding. Tree trimming, on the other hand, is $20 a month of the average bill. Undergrounding reduces wildfire risk 98 percent, so the more lines we bury, the safer you are, the more reliable our power is and the less we have to spend cutting vegetation away from our lines.” If you don’t mind, I would like to add, “Amen!”
And, speaking of cutting vegetation, the wholesale slaughter of millions of trees in our national forest is a national disgrace. If they cut down all the trees, how are we going to breathe? “Gasp!”
I hear you singing in the wire, I can hear you through the whine, and the Wichita lineman is still on the line.
Keep it flyin’,
Uncle Mott
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