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Utilities

In fire-prone California, experts push utilities to monitor the riskiest equipment on the grid

by Lily Jamali
Jan 6, 2022
Power lines and equipment have sparked devastating blazes. Now companies are asked to take stock of their aging infrastructure.
Utilities have been making upgrades to their systems. Above, workers re-anchor a pole that suspends power lines outside Acton, California.
Lily Jamali/Marketplace
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Why don't American cities have more public bathrooms?

by Kai Ryssdal and Andie Corban
Dec 1, 2021
Writer Elizabeth Yuko explains why Americans use toilets in private businesses instead of those maintained by the government.
"9/11 really was the final nail in the coffin for a lot of the remaining public restrooms and a lot have been closed since," says Elizabeth Yuko, a contributing writer for Bloomberg CityLab.
Getty Images
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The pandemic slowed global efforts to expand access to electricity

by Samantha Fields
Sep 29, 2021
According to a new IEA report, the pandemic stalled progress the most in sub-Saharan Africa.
A report shows that the pandemic hindered efforts to establish access to electricity around the globe, as governments diverted resources to fighting COVID-19.
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
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Why not bury all our power lines?

by Andy Uhler
Sep 1, 2021
The upfront cost is high and the cost-benefit calculation depends and the region, experts say.
Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images
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California's battery-supported grid off to a slow start

by Caroline Champlin
Jul 13, 2021
California’s grid operator hoped new battery storage could prevent rolling blackouts. Installation has been delayed.
The sun shines over towers carrying electical lines August 30, 2007 in South San Francisco, California.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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California blackouts trigger debate about electric grid resilience

by Andy Uhler
Aug 28, 2020
A heat wave and record levels of electricity demand are straining infrastructure.
Investments in grids were already falling, and COVID-19 has slowed down upgrades even further.
Brent Stirton/Getty Images
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California blackouts reflect a complicated supply-and-demand problem

by Andy Uhler
Aug 17, 2020
The load can overwhelm the electric grid during heat waves, but this summer's outages have raised new questions.
A sign in Calistoga, California, calls on PG&E to turn the electricity back on during a statewide blackout in October 2019.
Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images
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COVID-19

Stop utility shut-offs during COVID-19 crisis, NAACP Legal Defense Fund president says

by David Brancaccio , Rose Conlon and Alex Schroeder
Mar 27, 2020
"We would love to have a nationwide moratorium on all utility shut-offs, but every day, turn-offs are happening," Sherrilyn Ifill says.
Some states have worked to stop utility shut-offs, including Maryland, Kansas and Kentucky.
Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images
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PG&E due in bankruptcy court

by Scott Tong
Nov 19, 2019
PG&E's power grid infrastructure has been blamed for wildfires in 2017 and 2018.
A fallen PG&E utility pole lays on a property burned during the Kincade Fire in Healdsburg, California on Oct. 28, 2019.
Philip Pachecho/AFP via Getty Images
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Georgia Power wants a rate hike. Some of its customers wonder why.

by Emma Hurt
Oct 25, 2019
The utility's parent company brought in more than $2 billion in profits last year.
Dozens of people gathered outside the Georgia Public Service Commission building to protest Georgia Power’s proposal to raise electric rates.
Emma Hurt/WABE
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