"The private utility has for years made maintenance and safety a second priority, after bonus payments to management and high shareholder returns. Along with the other big private power companies in the state, PG&E has asked for even more money from the ratepayers to bump up its stock price. Now an old transformer caught fire, and the company didn't have the resiliency to avoid a blackout that impacted a third of the city, and is still going as I write this."
"Meanwhile: Waymo clearly isn't ready for prime time, not in a city where blackouts and other emergencies are common. The robocars just stopped in the middle of intersections when the streetlights went out. They've stopped and blocked traffic when the wifi signals aren't getting through (l ike near big events). Imagine if an ambulance or a fire truck needed to get through one of the blocked intersections."
PG&E prioritized bonuses and shareholder returns over maintenance and safety and requested higher rates from ratepayers. An aging transformer fire caused a prolonged blackout that affected roughly a third of the city. PG&E has operated illegally in San Francisco for more than a century, imposing tens of millions in annual costs. San Francisco is pursuing municipalization to create a public power utility to increase local control and resiliency. Waymo autonomous vehicles stopped in intersections during blackouts and when wifi failed, blocking traffic and threatening emergency response. Delivery drones and future outages or earthquakes could produce additional public safety hazards.
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