Over 700,000 homes and businesses throughout northern California found themselves without power on the morning of October 8th; this event was not of catastrophic technological malfunctions, but a planned shut down by utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric in an attempt to prevent wildfires.

After weather modules projected high winds and dry conditions—components that greatly increase chances of California’s infamous wildfires—the power company decided to shut down all power, returning electricity to the majority of those affected on October 10th.

While the idea may have seemed good in theory, upon implementation, the areas affected were thrown into chaos. The lack of proper communication and the failure of the company’s website and computer systems left people unable to find out which areas would be affected and businesses suddenly thrust into darkness scrambling for an alternate power source.

As people have questioned whether planned power outages will recur as wildfire conditions grow more frequent with the changing climate, officials have criticized PG&E for its failure to both manage equipment to prevent fires and handling of the planned power outage.

Marybel Batjer, president of the state utilities commission, commented on PG&E’s planned blackout.

In a commission meeting on October 10th, Batejer said, “The impacts to individual communities, to individual people, to the commerce of our state, to the safety of our people, has been less than exemplary. This cannot be the new normal. We can’t accept it as the new normal. And we won’t.”

Pacific Gas & Electric was the cause of many previous wildfires in recent California history. including the Camp Fire of 2018—California’s deadliest wildfire that killed 85 people and destroyed over 19,000 buildings. The company already facing around $30 billion in wildfire liabilities. The blackout last week has estimated to already cost the California economy about 2 billion dollars.

PG&E CEO Bill Johnson has accepted the missteps the company made during the planned shutoff, commenting that while the company was “Not adequately prepared,” for the scale of the operation, the decision was made to “keep customers and communities safe.”

Asking about whether or not PG&E’s decision to sophomore Bernadette Enriquez, “I think the people shouldn’t be liable for the company’s faults. If the company cannot handle its own technology they shouldn’t be using it in the first place. The utility should improve their management and equipment to prevent any future fires.”

With growing climate change around the world, utilities and people alike must adjust to the inevitable changes in the natural environment.