Energy

Environment

San Diego County Supervisors OK Electric Vehicle 'Road Map'

City News Service

Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, who sponsored the plan, described it as "an item we can all agree on."
KPBS Midday Edition

San Diego Company Says It Can Extract Lithium From Geothermal Brine

Brooke Ruth

Mark Sauer

Lithium-ion batteries are central to modern life; from mobile phones to electric vehicles. But the United States lacks a major source of lithium.
Environment

Supervisors Vote To Establish An Energy Choice Program

City News Service

The Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday in favor of establishing a community choice energy program for San Diego County's unincorporated areas.
Environment

Do California Power Shutoffs Work? Experts Unsure

The Associated Press

Millions of Californians spent part of the week in the dark in an unprecedented effort by the state's large electrical utilities to prevent another devastating wildfire. It was the fifth time Pacific Gas & Electric Co. has preemptively cut the power but by far the largest to date in the utility's effort to prevent a deadly wildfire sparked by its power lines.
Politics

Roundtable: Wildfire Risk Leaves California In The Dark

Bennett Lacy

Mark Sauer

Utility companies across the state enact preventative power outages amid an escalating risk for wildfires. San Diego State University negotiates with the city council over the purchase price for the Mission Valley stadium site. And, an analysis of crime data from the San Diego Police Department reveals a small percentage of vehicle break-ins result in arrests.
Public Safety

Millions Playing Waiting Game Over Electricity Shutoffs

The Associated Press

Millions of Californians played a waiting game with the winds Thursday as Pacific Gas & Electric watched the weather before deciding whether to restore power to an enormous portion of the state blacked out on purpose.
KPBS Midday Edition

SDG&E Warns Of Possible Outages To Prevent Wildfires In Dry, Gusty Weather

Christopher Underwood

Shalina Chatlani

San Diego Gas & Electric announced this week that the utility may shut off power in certain parts of San Diego County due to forecasted weather conditions that could pose a danger to power lines and increase the risk of wildfires.
Environment

California Power Outage: What Happens When The Lights Go Out

The Associated Press

Power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses is expected to go out, affecting millions of people in California, starting early Wednesday.
Environment

Millions Face Power Outages Across Northern, Central California

The Associated Press

Bottled water and batteries were flying off the shelves at California stores as millions of customers prepared to live without electricity for days in the face of what Pacific Gas & Electric called an unprecedented wildfire danger.
KPBS Evening Edition

Supreme Court Denies SDG&E Appeal To Have Ratepayers Pay $379M For 2007 Wildfires

Shalina Chatlani

San Diego Gas & Electric went to the U.S. Supreme Court last year after its argument had been repeatedly rejected by state courts and energy regulators since 2012.