Sonoma Clean Power officials will explore public ownership of PG&E utility lines
TYLER SILVY
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT November 14
Sonoma Clean Power, a public agency that supplies renewable energy to Sonoma and Mendocino counties, will begin exploring the impact of a public takeover of PG&E’s electrical grid as the bankrupt utility faces growing questions about the safety and solvency of its operations.
In a unanimous vote, Sonoma Clean Power’s board of directors instructed staff Thursday to study what role, if any, the Santa Rosa agency might play in the acquisition of PG&E power lines and other equipment.
“I think it’s incumbent upon us,” said board Chairman Mark Landman, a member of the Cotati City Council. “I don’t see where we have a choice. We recognize it. I know the public recognizes it.”
The vote followed a discussion of PG&E’s precarious hold on solvency, including whether it would be able to meet a June 30 deadline set by Gov. Gavin Newsom to resolve its bankruptcy in order to access state money to pay for future wildfire liabilities.
Sonoma Clean Power is following the lead of San Francisco and a public power agency in Yolo County, which each made offers to buy PG&E’s distribution grid, and a group of elected officials in Northern California who urged the creation of a customer-owned cooperative to replace PG&E.
PG&E facilities are not for sale, spokeswoman Deanna Contreras said in an emailed statement. Changing the structure of the company would not create a safer operation, she said.
“We remain firmly convinced that a government or customer takeover is not the optimal solution that will address the challenges and serve the long-run interests of all customers in the communities we serve,” Contreras said.
Sonoma Clean Power has a symbiotic relationship with PG&E. Founded in 2014, the agency buys and generates electricity from renewable sources, then delivers it to customers over PG&E wires. PG&E retains responsibility for maintaining the grid, servicing customers and billing.
Acquiring the operations of a close partner is a difficult topic to discuss, said Geof Syphers, chief executive officer for Sonoma Clean Power. But PG&E is behind on maintenance by 10 to 14 years and is ensnared in a multibillion-dollar bankruptcy case featuring plans put forth by hedge funds bent on squeezing huge margins out of the utility, Syphers said.
“The only way to do that is hurt employees, don’t invest in safety or you do something else dramatic,” Syphers said. “I’m nervous at the outset at who’s competing to control PG&E.”
Board member Dave King, a member of the Petaluma City Council, put a sharper point on it.
“Nothing I can think of says, ‘screw the public interest’ like a hedge fund-owned public utility,” King said.
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