The recent windstorms in Southern California caused more than a few blackouts from downed power lines, which has resurfaced the debate over how to improve L.A.'s utilities and prevent these problems in the future.
Pacific Gas and Electric wants to bury the majority of its powerlines, which would prevent them from going down in high winds and minimize the risk of brush fires.
But with an estimated cost of $6 billion over ten years and customers picking up the tab, the Public Utilities Commission wants a cheaper, quicker fix.
Regulatory attorney and former PUC chairperson Loretta Lynch spoke with KNX News Chief Correspondent Charles Feldman about some of the available alternatives.
"They can fix the conductors on the line. They can tighten the lines so that they don't swing as much in the wind and catch on things - a tighter line is a safer line. Three, they can cut back trees and other vegetation that are near those lines so that they don't fall on the lines and bring them down," said Lynch.
She also said utilities should inspect all of their lines yearly, saying preventative maintenance will lower fire risks tremendously, but "they just don't."
Want to get caught up on what's happening in SoCal every weekday afternoon? Click to follow The L.A. Local wherever you get podcasts.
Lynch believes the companies are not doing enough to prevent these outages for a few reasons:
- They don't want to spend the money
- They don't have enough personnel
- No one is forcing them to
But the main issue is profits.
"It is so much more profitable to put in a new line that's underground than just to cover the conductor...So they've been putting in proposals to the PUC to underground all these lines because they are going to make money, hand over fist," Lynch said.
She said adding new infrastructure would allow the company to make a sizable profit for the next 10 to 20 years.
PUC will decide on a plan in April.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok