Source: WIRED

In addition to struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic like everyone else, we Californians had another crisis to contend with this year that you might have heard about: fire season.

When PG&E—the utility that serves the northern two-thirds of the state—first announced in October 2019 that it would be implementing intentional blackouts across its coverage area as a stopgap against the annual threat of wildfires, the conversation in my household was likely one that was echoed throughout California. “If that’s how it’s going to be, we’re moving,” my wife insisted. Her words had the dead seriousness in tone that I knew meant I should stifle my instinct to laugh.

Soon after that, PG&E made good on its promise. Our house sat without power for four days, and we were lucky. Others around the state were powerless for more than a week, with some 3 million people ultimately affected. Of course, California’s not the only place where power is janky. Storms knock out the power in the northeast regularly. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 left many customers without power for weeks.

Continue reading the full article here: https://www.wired.com/story/home-solar-power-and-energy-resilience/