The power company that serves more than 5 million people in one of the world’s most technologically developed areas has to make a decision: turn off the electricity or risk starting wildfires. Pacific Gas & Electric, PG&E, is $30 billion in debt and needs billions more to modernize its aging power system. Many Californians are unsure as to whether the company can safely provide electricity to a large part of the state. The company’s troubles come from years of poor leadership and even worse government oversight. Combine those problems with both climate change and a housing shortage, and a crisis appears. “There’s a ton of blame to go around here,” said Christopher Knittel. He directs the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. The problem and its possible answers are the top concern for California politicians.
