As excerpted from our Sacramento Bee Op-Ed.
After emerging from bankruptcy for the second time in two decades, PG&E is defending itself in court over recent wildfires, fending off growing dissatisfaction with its service and trying to raise its already sky-high rates to stay afloat.
PG&E is no longer the only option for electric service, and momentum is growing among diverse California communities, including our distinctly urban and rural districts, eager to ditch the utility’s for-profit model — and shift, once and for all, to locally controlled, public power. There’s only one problem: PG&E, as it does on so many issues, appears to be doing everything it can to stop them.
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There’s no shortage of reasons for the state to let communities like San Francisco and South San Joaquin go their own way on public power. They have offered real money for PG&E’s assets — cash that can help PG&E compensate wildfire victims and focus resources on the many other upgrades needed throughout its service area.