Earlier, I mentioned are prolonged power outage. An invaluable article in our local weekly paper reports that our IOU -- the appropriate acronym for Investor Owned Utility -- PG&E suffered much more damage than the publicly owned utilities in the region. Apparently, PG&E has been relatively negligent in maintenance, leaving its infrastructure more vulnerable.
Because of aggressive tree trimming and replacement of ancient power poles, the publicly owned companies experienced virtually no outages. Here is the link to the article: http://www.newsreview.com/chico/Content?oid=613885 -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com
