To PG&E:
We are writing to express our grave concern about PG&E’s unacceptable response to a frightening recent incident in our neighborhood. On June 5th, 2019 at 8:44 PM, a fire started at a transformer on a PG&E pole located between four properties at the corner of Tamarack Lane and Scripps Drive, in Davis, California.
The pole is located at a point where four backyard fences meet for the four properties located on Scripps Drive, Tamarack Lane and Citadel. The electricity went out at some properties at 8:44 PM and the transformer started smoking and making “popping” noises, like the sound of fire crackers.
The resident at 1630 Tamarack Lane placed a call to 911 at 8:45 PM. By this-time, fire was visible and smoke had filled the neighbor’s yard. The fire grew rapidly and a series of explosions happened while the resident was on the cell phone with 911 and continued throughout the fire.
The Fire Department arrived within 3 to 5 minutes. However, PG&E did not arrive until at least one hour later.
The evening of June 5th, 2019 was hot, at least in the high 90’s, but only the air conditioner at 1630 Tamarack Lane was turned on at the time. There was no wind – a saving grace – as the fire grew larger and spread down the pole where there are two storage sheds within 10 to 15 feet, and lower vegetation.
All trees nearby had already long been cut down either by PG&E or by the homeowners. The firefighters stood by in at least two backyards, but all they could do was make sure the fire didn’t spread. 
They could not put out the fire due to danger of electrocution because PG&E had not yet switched the power off. If this had been just one day later, June 6th, with a howling wind, the fire would have spread rapidly.
While we have had transformer malfunctions in the past, a transformer has never caught fire like it did on June 5th. The transformer which caught fire was installed within the previous 6 months.
What happened to this transformer? How could a new transformer, placed within the last 6 months, malfunction? Very minimal electricity was being drawn at that time by the four properties: only 1 air conditioner, and one house was using a television and one light.
Why did this fire happen? Is this a matter of substandard materials? Was the transformer wrongly wired when it was installed? Do you need to initiate a recall on the equipment you have placed within the last 6 months or a year? Do you need to do a recall on all the wiring work the person who installed the transformer at our properties has done?
We need a fire investigation to explain to us what happened. We are frightened by this event. People and their houses are in real danger. At three of the four properties, the neighbors did not even know the electrical pole was on fire; someone had to knock on their door to tell them.
What if this happens later on in the summer, when more people are using more electricity? What if people are out of town or asleep and do not notice the flames?
We have not been contacted by PG&E since this incident nor as of the date of this letter. A number of us were forced to sleep elsewhere on the evening of June 5th. The only information we received was verbally from the Davis firefighters who told us PG&E would probably be back next day to repair and restore power.
As it happened, PG&E repaired everything overnight. However, not a single person from PG&E has communicated directly with any of us and we have received no explanation or apology or any reassurance that this event will not happen again. We feel we are in danger due to your substandard equipment, delayed arrival. and inadequate response from your company. As customers of PG&E we need answers and assurances that this situation will not repeat reoccur in Davis, let alone elsewhere.
We would therefore appreciate a prompt response explaining how this dangerous failure occurred, why the response from PG&E was so unacceptably slow, how you plan to investigate and correct the causes of the incident, and what actions will be taken to prevent a similar occurrence (with possibly more tragic consequences) in the future.
Sincerely,
Fernando Moreno and Valerie Venghiattis
Marisol de la Cadena and Steve Boucher
Caren Kaplan and Eric Smoodin
William D. Ristenpart and Emily Hill
Johanna Schmitt and James Dunn
Bart Wickel and Beth Wheeler
Martina and Roland Faller
Lisette van Vliet & Victor Libet
We need to consider systemic change, at least in the operations/technical level: Are there other cities, etc where the fire department is trained and authorized to turn off the power in extreme situations like this?
The prize here, however, is fully-buried power lines and solar panels on every roof — under full community control.
Even if we decided (rather than someone else dictate) to put solar panels on our house, I sure as hell would not want them to be “under full community control”!
UG power lines have their own risks… UG facilities include transformers. Community ownership/control shifts risks of power distribution systems to the community, financially… Udergrounding older, existing lines have very large costs… we live in an area that has UG electric… paid for that once, in the price of my house… not interested in paying for UG’ing of OH lines either directly or via rates increased to pay for it.
Your implied/stated point as to systemic change re: operations/technical issues is valid, but under the aegis of the existing public utilities… the authors of the ‘open letter’ have very valid questions/concerns. Those should be addressed, answered, and the community, via governmental agencies, should help ensure they are addressed.
“Under full community control” could include a rule that optimizes the financial situation for the home owner, all the way from installation of panels and a storage device to the “direction” that power flows on the lines. It provides all this as part of a (holistic) contract that benefits everyone, including commercial and residential leaseholders
It may be decided democratically that if an owner doesn’t want to connect to the electrical grid, they have disconnect from the whole grid, including streets, water and sewers. Why should people get to pick and choose? If all your neighbors vote to put their lines UG, it should benefit you in relation to risk of fire… but you don’t have to pay for it? At some freedom becomes UnAmerican, yes? No one is trying to take away your private property, but we live in a community, and our lack of collective responsibility for it brings us the current situation with kids riding bike around potholes on the way to their school which has its power knocked out to some predictable and regular strong gusts of wind.
There’s “risk”, and then there’s also risk.
I am patient and know that many communities will have to work together to reduce insane spending for the automobile industry and the military as we wait for pension costs for the latter to go down as people pass away… and during that time I am confidant that UGing of power lines will become even more advantageous than it is currently due to technological improvements.
That attitude make Bernie Sanders look far, far, far right of Ronald Reagan… throws out the true concept of democracy in favor of ‘mob rule’, and invalidates the US Constitution, social norms, common sense, and perhaps sanity itself…
Perhaps by a ‘democratic vote’ all should have to drive a car getting 25 mpg (use of bicycles by those over age 18 would be illegal), have everyone making over 100k/year give 50% of their net worth to support the top 1%… equally as sane, in concept…
You like/want to control other people much? Meant as an honest question…
BTW, all of my neighbors have UG utilities, and we all paid for it at the time our subdivision was built… no one else contributed…
Todd… the folk in that area could ask to become a part of an UG district, and pay the costs for the undergrounding over a 30 year period.
Just don’t even try to tell me I should (or more to your apparent point, HAVE TO) help in financing that… or perhaps they should pay nothing to get the benefit, and the rest of us should pay their tab?
Also, for the record, electrical facilities (distribution) have by City ordinance have had to be undergrounded, in new development, since ~ 1972, in Davis… usually including ‘retro-fits’ for adjacent facilities… new development paid for those costs, and in many cases, also had to pay for UG’ing those of abutting properties… the properties in question (with OH) were developed pre-1972… our previous home was built in 1968… we had OH, and a transformer within a lot away… I know this stuff… no research was used in composing this post.
First of all please don’t take me so literally… it’s a joyous weekend in our town, full of challenging but necessary transitions…
Most definitely people who already paid for UGing – e.g. embedded in a purchase price of a house – should get a significant to full cut off of any citizen contribution.
I don’t want to control anyone — but I also don’t want a minority to ruin something for everyone. My all-in-or-out-of-the-grid-of-services is fine only as a mental exercise. In a residential housing context what’s analogous to drunk, reckless driving of a huge, polluting automobile?
Much of this will need to wait until we have less of a housing crisis, because part of the costs will need to be passed on to renters. Homeowners should be well-supported.
Todd…
K.
The “tone” I read, which is “on me”, lead me to take it literally…
Have a great weekend…
Bill
You wrote “Community ownership/control shifts risks of power distribution systems to the community, financially…”
While in concept the CPUC is supposed to impose risk on the shareholders of utilities, the reality is that isn’t the case. I have practiced as a regulatory expert at the CPUC since the early 1990s and I can assure you that you are bearing almost all of the risk for PG&E’s bad decisions. PG&E builds into its revenue and rate requests a buffer to absorb the rate “reduction” that the CPUC will eventually “impose” in the final decision. The cost of that pole fire will be passed on entirely to ratepayers. PG&E has badly mismanaged its generation asset portfolio and ratepayers are bearing the entire cost premium in excess of 2 cents per kilowatt-hour.
So if ratepayers are already bearing all of the costs, why should private monopoly owners continue to profit with little or no accountability? There is no effective difference financially between private and public ownership of a monopoly asset in this situation. PG&E is operating in a market as removed from “free” as SMUD–so why not just take out the middleman?