California Burning: The Fall of Pacific Gas and Electric—and What It Means for America's Power Grid
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Katherine Blunt. (2022). California Burning: The Fall of Pacific Gas and Electric—and What It Means for America's Power Grid. Penguin Publishing Group.

Katherine Blunt. 2022. California Burning: The Fall of Pacific Gas and Electric—and What It Means for America's Power Grid. Penguin Publishing Group.

Katherine Blunt, California Burning: The Fall of Pacific Gas and Electric—and What It Means for America's Power Grid. Penguin Publishing Group, 2022.

Katherine Blunt. California Burning: The Fall of Pacific Gas and Electric—and What It Means for America's Power Grid. Penguin Publishing Group, 2022.

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California Burning

fullDescription

NATIONAL BESTSELLER
2022 Winner of the Golden Poppy Award for Nonfiction (California Independent Booksellers Alliance)
A revelatory, urgent narrative with national implications, exploring the decline of California’s largest utility company that led to countless wildfires — including the one that destroyed the town of Paradise — and the human cost of infrastructure failure
Pacific Gas and Electric was a legacy company built by innovators and visionaries, establishing California as a desirable home and economic powerhouse. In California Burning, Wall Street Journal reporter and Pulitzer finalist Katherine Blunt examines how that legacy fell apart—unraveling a long history of deadly failures in which Pacific Gas and Electric endangered millions of Northern Californians, through criminal neglect of its infrastructure. As PG&E prioritized profits and politics, power lines went unchecked—until a rusted hook purchased for 56 cents in 1921 split in two, sparking the deadliest wildfire in California history.
Beginning with PG&E’s public reckoning after the Paradise fire, Blunt chronicles the evolution of PG&E’s shareholder base, from innovators who built some of California's first long-distance power lines to aggressive investors keen on reaping dividends. Following key players through pivotal decisions and legal battles, California Burning reveals the forces that shaped the plight of PG&E: deregulation and market-gaming led by Enron Corp., an unyielding push for renewable energy, and a swift increase in wildfire risk throughout the West, while regulators and lawmakers pushed their own agendas.
California Burning is a deeply reported, character-driven narrative, the story of a disaster expanding into a much bigger exploration of accountability. It’s an American tragedy that serves as a cautionary tale for utilities across the nation—especially as climate change makes aging infrastructure more vulnerable, with potentially fatal consequences.

reviews

1. • premium: True
   • source:
   • content:

     May 9, 2022
     Wall Street Journal reporter Blunt debuts with a comprehensive investigation of the vulnerability of California’s power grid. After wildfires “killed more than a hundred people and razed hundreds of thousands of acres of vineyard and forest,” the author writes, the “chronic mismanagement criminal neglect” at California’s Pacific Gas and Electric became clear. Blunt connects recent disasters, such as 2018’s Camp Fire that killed 85 people, to the history of California’s utility companies, showing how deregulation in the 1990s brought about an energy market that was ripe for manipulation. Blunt walks readers through how companies took advantage of it and brought electricity prices to record highs as PG&E fell into bankruptcy. Meanwhile, a push for renewable energy resulted in the creation of “sprawling solar farms” in the 2010s as aging gas and electric grids were neglected and became increasingly prone to catastrophe. Positing that California is a bellwether for other states, Blunt forecasts a rocky road ahead as “all of the nation’s investor-owned utilities are challenged to satisfy shareholders while making their infrastructure safer and more resilient.” Diligent reporting and a clear focus make this a must-read for anyone interested in the future of energy.

2. • premium: True
   • source:
   • content:

     July 1, 2022
     An account of the failure of a major utility company and how it serves as "a harbinger of challenges to come as climate change exacerbates the vulnerability of the [power] grid." In this intensely researched, deeply unsettling chronicle of Pacific Gas and Electric, Blunt, a San Francisco-based Wall Street Journal reporter who covers energy and utilities, digs deep into the company's erosion and collapse. The author begins in the 19th century when the electric light and a massive migration west attracted entrepreneurs, including the founders of PG&E, who built dams to serve California's exploding population. Even though most states gave utility companies monopolies in their areas, they were still private businesses with stockholders. Guaranteed a modest profit, they remained a stodgy but reliable investment. In 1996, reacting to America's conservative swing, California's legislature deregulated the power industry. Suddenly, investors could make big money in the power market, and many sleazy operators did so (see: Enron). Matters improved after a few years, but the industry remained fragmented and fiercely competitive. As always, profit ruled. Investing in capital improvements increases profits, while investment in maintenance is "money out the door"--as such, the infrastructure continued to deteriorate. Over the past decade, warming temperatures, drought, and deteriorating power lines have produced record numbers of catastrophic wildfires, killing hundreds and destroying thousands of homes and millions of acres of forest. Multibillion-dollar lawsuits drove PG&E into bankruptcy in 2019, from which it is now emerging. Most industries suffering massive liabilities go out of business, selling buildings, machinery, and inventory to pay creditors. A utility, legally bound to supply power, can't do this. It must either borrow money, which customers eventually repay, or bill customers directly. California electric rates are rising steadily, and Blunt delivers detailed accounts of complex, ongoing political, business, and courtroom maneuvers that would overwhelm readers if not for her abundant journalistic skills. But even this plugged-in author cannot deny that PG&E's problems may be insoluble. A compelling and heart-wrenching study.

     COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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948

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shortDescription

NATIONAL BESTSELLER
2022 Winner of the Golden Poppy Award for Nonfiction (California Independent Booksellers Alliance)
A revelatory, urgent narrative with national implications, exploring the decline of California’s largest utility company that led to countless wildfires — including the one that destroyed the town of Paradise — and the human cost of infrastructure failure
Pacific Gas and Electric was a legacy company built by innovators and visionaries, establishing California as a desirable home and economic powerhouse. In California Burning, Wall Street Journal reporter and Pulitzer finalist Katherine Blunt examines how that legacy fell apart—unraveling a long history of deadly failures in which Pacific Gas and Electric endangered millions of Northern Californians, through criminal neglect of its infrastructure. As PG&E prioritized profits and politics, power lines went unchecked—until a rusted...

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   • description: Business & Economics / Industries / Energy
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   • description: Science / Global Warming & Climate Change