As PG&E Leaves Millions Without Power Amid Wildfires, Sanders Says Time to Think About 'Public Ownership of Major Utilities'
As two million Californians go without power in the midst of for-profit utility giant PG&E’s intentional and unprecedented blackout—which the company says is necessary to prevent more wildfires—Sen. Bernie Sanders said Sunday that “it is time to begin thinking about public ownership of major utilities” to prevent such catastrophic corporate mismanagement in the future.
“Our hearts go out to Californians affected by the devastating wildfires,” tweeted Sanders, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate. “Climate change is real, and when I am president, we are going to treat this like the existential crisis it is.”
Sanders’ tweet came just before Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a statewide emergency over the more than a dozen fires raging across California, which have forced nearly 200,000 people to evacuate their homes.
“No one in this country should be losing power in their home because large corporations have failed to invest in a smart, safe, and modern electrical grid.”
—Rafael Návar, Sanders’ 2020 California state director
PG&E began its latest phase of shut-offs Friday afternoon as high winds threatened to damage above-ground power lines and spark more fires. As the Los Angeles Times reported, “by Sunday evening the utility had cut current to 940,000 homes and businesses, affecting more than two million people, with one more phase to come in Fresno and Madera counties.”
“The winds are not expected to subside until Monday, but it will take another 48 hours to get power flowing again,” according to the Times. “The utility will have to deploy thousands of inspectors to make sure the lines were not damaged in the wind, or else they could ignite a fire.”
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