PG&E fails Pacific Grove: Power problems remain | Forum | Opinion

I am writing this on Saturday, December 14th, in the house I rented in Pacific Grove, by candlelight, like an 18th century serf. I’m waiting for sunrise to go to the nearest cafe with electricity and post this letter expressing my disillusionment and disgust with our energy infrastructure here in Monterey Bay.

Every year, as surely as the winter solstice, we suffer several power outages. They last different lengths of time and affect different numbers of people. Sometimes thousands, for days. I am fortunate to have traveled to many countries for work and have friends all over the world. People in first world countries are shocked when I talk about my fiancé sitting at home in the dark grading homework and tests again. Those from developing countries nod in understanding. Then they are shocked when I tell them the cost of our monthly energy bill.

Living in one of the most desirable and expensive places in the world and sitting with rotting food in the fridge and inaccessible work must be the act of a cruel and incompetent creator. But I think it’s the inappropriate work of Pacific Gas & Electric instead.

You may not see us here in the dark, year after year.

I want to explain why I am so angry at PG&E, our representatives and our communities for failing our communities. I want to highlight how their mistakes impact us. The implications seem clear to me, but they must not keep us in the dark year after year.

First, failures harm our environment. During power outages, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of generators are turned on. They must run to keep life going for residents who have no other choice. These generators release exhaust gases and greenhouse gases.

Second, they impact our economy. Small businesses are struggling to survive. Forcing them to close because of the power outage, even for just a day, is cruel. Large companies are better suited to survive these situations. You can buy commercial scale generators (which again harms the environment). You can discard products on a large scale with little profit loss. But local businesses are being left behind by PG&E and the governments that are supposed to support us. If I can’t work as an independent contractor, my pay will be delayed, but my bills will still be due – regardless of whether PG&E can’t deliver the electricity we pay for.

Third, a lack of justice. PG&E’s dystopian infrastructure and our government’s inaction hurt everyone. But the hardest hit are those who are already struggling to feed their families. Those who rely on hourly work may not have the opportunity to go to work due to the closures (see above).

Every year as I sit in the dark waiting for the lights to come back on, I wonder when action will be taken to improve our failing infrastructure. Some institutions serve their communities well. But some publicly subsidized private companies seem to only care about their shareholders. If only our legislators and local governments would ensure they are serving their customers. But they seem either unwilling or unable to do so.