Taking over its power grid wouldn’t insulate the city from risk.
San Francisco works hard to shake off its stereotype of existing in a bubble. OK, not that hard.
Now it’s thinking of extending that splendid isolation to how it gets its power. Mayor London Breed said in an interview with Bloomberg News that she’s “pretty excited” at the prospect of the city taking over its local grid from bankrupt utility PG&E Corp. A feasibility study is due later this month — and it’s not the first one, either. San Francisco has been considering taking its grid out of PG&E’s hands, off and on, since at least the 1990s.
Yet, as much as taking over the grid would scratch that particular itch, forming the San Francisco Electric Co. would risk creating losers all around.
It is easy to see why San Francisco is tempted. PG&E’s reputation has been trashed; look no further than this tidbit from the recent report issued by Governor Gavin Newsom’s wildfire “strike force”:
Bloomberg Business
By Liam Denning
April 18, 2019, 10:21 AM PDT