Cutting power is not the answer

Through an attempt to minimize their own accountability in regard to wildfires, Pacific Gas & Electric cut power in more than 700,000 homes and businesses throughout Northern California from Oct. 9-12.

PG&E deemed them necessary in an attempt to minimize the possibility of destructive wildfires, an issue the company is no stranger to seeing as it was their infrastructure that caused the infamous Camp Fire last year that completely ravaged Paradise, California.

Several of their towers had been deemed at risk of collapse through a company email, with one in such bad state it only endangered those meant to repair it.

With the acknowledgment that their infrastructure was failing, it only seemed appropriate for PG&E to begin rolling out big changes. 

Unfortunately, cutting the power to 34 different counties and leaving streets, businesses and homes in the dark was the worst change the company could have made. Such a widespread power outage affects the daily lives of everyone, from minor inconveniences such as hindered communication lines to major crises such as the risks posed for those dependent on electrical medical equipment. 

Such a change proves even more reprehensible when it becomes obvious that the issue of wildfires PG&E is trying so desperately to avoid with this power outage could have been easily avoided years ago had the company just implemented the proper guidelines and procedures pertaining to infrastructure updates and safety regulations in the first place. 

With the company’s past, it seems as though updating infrastructure and ensuring such devastation never happens again would be their top priority.

However, PG&E seems to see inconveniencing the public, and posing more issues than solutions, to be the more adequate route. Had PG&E been a little more proactive and a little less money-hungry, these situations could have been prevented.

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Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Campus Times Editorial Board.

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