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 Support Climate One by going ad-free! Subscribe to Climate One on Patreon for exclusive access to all future episodes, free of ads. Sign up today. Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CEO of Nation’s Biggest Utility Talks Affordability, Fires, Outages, and Public Outrage

Spotify

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     Support Climate One by going ad-free! Subscribe to Climate One on Patreon for exclusive access to all future episodes, free of ads. Sign up today.    Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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