Welcome to California. Make sure to bring a generator ! (refrigerator, to live in)

[CrownVic95]

Originally Posted by marino760

I can understand the concern if you have a family member that cannot tolerate high temps because of a medical condition which could be life threatening.
As for everyone else, get used to it. People have lived without AC up until the the 1960s and 1970s for the most part. You cannot have it both ways. You cannot scream with outrage and want to sue an electric company when high winds knocks over equipment and causes a fire and then scream how being without AC for a few days is going to be too uncomfortable for you. Tough up and stop complaining if you want to live in CA or else move east of the Rockies where this is a non issue.

Utter nonsense.

The vast majority of us did not sue the electric company or scream with outrage. Nor is there any valid reason to have to turn the clock back a hundred years. We can have steady, reliable power without preemptive shutoffs in California, just like they do throughout the other western states AND throughout other areas of the country that have regular challenges (like ice storms) that PG&E largely has the luxury of exemption from.

Yes, there will be catastrophic events that cause power outages from time to time no matter where you live. Everyone understands that. But you don't put a plan in place to turn off power to many thousands or even millions for up to several days because something might happen.

My response to this is....tough up and stop making excuses for a company that has been allowed to evade their responsibilities for far too long.

[Ruth4Truth]

I just read another thread, discussing the PG & E bankruptcy, and potential issues of rolling blackouts, shutting off of service in locales all over the state potentially (not just the Sierras), and other concerns about service reliability.

I confess, that when the OP first started this thread, I thought it was only relevant to people in fire-prone areas, which at the time I thought was mainly the Sierras. The thread headline, especially, sounded overly broad in its applicability. I have now changed my view. I want to thank the OP for this topic. Though the position sounds a bit extreme, the fact is, that California's energy situation has been undependable ever since the Enron scandal, and we shouldn't take electrical service for granted ever again.

Kudos to the OP for continuing to inform the public of the situation in his town, and the implications of the situation for everyone else. Keep on keepin' on, OP!

[mgforshort]

With all respect, Marino, this is not about air conditioning.

On any given day we have maybe $ 140-180 worth of food in the refrigerator and the freezer. I'd hate to throw that all out due to a power shortage. Sure, we have a big Generac, but our neighbors don't.
Our best grocery store doesn't have a backup generator. There must be at least a $ hundred K worth of perishable food in there. After a couple shortages they might just pack up and leave for good. Marino, do you ever shop for groceries ?

We have elderly residents who use medical devices which all run on electricity.

In a case of an approacing fire we are notified by television first, or by the city second, through a landline phone, both need electric power.
Cell phone reception is not reliable, and in the fire last November cell phones all failed.

Like I posted before, this problem with PG&E won't go away until a few million residents in the San Francisco area go dark for 3-4 days. Once it happens, heads will roll, and PG&E will be completely changed, for the better, I hope.

[mgforshort]

If anyone cares, our last bill this November for natural gas came to $ 235, but we got a one-time $ 100 credit from PG&E - the governor made them do it.

With some heating use and the hot water our bill in November is usually around $ 50. The increase came from using a Generac whole house generator for 9 to 10 days during the several outages in October - the longest continuous power outage was 4 full days. They turn off our power when strong winds are predicted.

I only run the generator for 3-4 hours before turning it off for the same time frame. I don't need it for sleeping at night, but we can't afford the refrigerator / freezer warm up until all groceries go bad.

A neighbor has a smaller, dual fuel generator, and she told me they use about $ 25 worth of propane for 8-10 hours use. Besides the cost the worst part is to get new propane cylinders / exchange or refill, just about every day unless you keep half a dozen around.

[CrownVic95]

Originally Posted by mgforshort

If anyone cares, our last bill this November for natural gas came to $ 235, but we got a one-time $ 100 credit from PG&E - the governor made them do it.

With some heating use and the hot water our bill in November is usually around $ 50. The increase came from using a Generac whole house generator for 9 to 10 days during the several outages in October - the longest continuous power outage was 4 full days. They turn off our power when strong winds are predicted.

I only run the generator for 3-4 hours before turning it off for the same time frame. I don't need it for sleeping at night, but we can't afford the refrigerator / freezer warm up until all groceries go bad.

A neighbor has a smaller, dual fuel generator, and she told me they use about $ 25 worth of propane for 8-10 hours use. Besides the cost the worst part is to get new propane cylinders / exchange or refill, just about every day unless you keep half a dozen around.

I'm glad you got the token credit. The sad part is that there's next to zero chance it will be paid by those responsible - it'll be ratepayers paying themselves.

[eureka1]

Thank God none of my neighbors runs a generator.

[semispherical]

Originally Posted by mgforshort

A neighbor has a smaller, dual fuel generator, and she told me they use about $ 25 worth of propane for 8-10 hours use.

Interesting. My 8000 watt dual fuel generator uses a $20 tank of propane every five hours.

Besides the cost the worst part is to get new propane cylinders / exchange or refill, just about every day unless you keep half a dozen around.

Well, IMO the worst part is the freaking noise, especially if there are other neighborhood generators running too. But I'm afraid this is the new normal until solar+battery backup becomes more affordable.

[mgforshort]

Our generator is located in a work shop which is separated by the garage, then the rest of the house. In our living room I can hear it, barely, but in the bedrooms not at all. When I step out in the yard or on the street, there will be at least 4-5 generators running in every direction, and we can sure hear all of them when outside.

Nevertheless, it is better than taking groceries to the trash bin and sitting in the dark.

Our landline phone with Internet doesn't work in an outage and cell reception is not reliable. The only sure source of information about the fires is the Dish Network satellite television, and thanks to the generator we can get all the updates.

In the big Paradise fire in November 2018 we were not aware of the magnitude of the fire until I turned on the TV. Dish Network, Action News, and KRCR TV saved us from frying alive.

[Woody01]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

The Marines running utilities? Yeah.....no, I don't think so. I'd want better brainpower behind that.

Had to get in an anti-military crack, eh....?

You ought to get out more, our military is probably the most efficient (and smartest) part of the government.......you ever wonder how an aircraft carrier stays out to sea for a year...? Produces water, power for thousands.....

[Woody01]

I have a generator at both of our houses. They are both quiet at ~ 50 dbs....barely louder than a conversation. Everyone should have one IMO, and not just for fires......CA has earthquakes to worry about as well. A big one will take out power for a looong time.

I don't know if it's been mentioned, but you can install a transfer switch. This allows you do separate certain circuits (fridge, etc..) so that in time of need, you can run them with a generator and not have to power the whole house. I have 3000+ watt gennies ready to go - dual fuel (propane/gas)