The power company that serves more than 5 million people in one of the world’s most technologically developed areas has to make a decision: turn off the electricity or risk starting wildfires. Pacific Gas & Electric, PG&E, is $30 billion in debt and needs billions more to modernize its aging power system. Many Californians are unsure as to whether the company can safely provide electricity to a large part of the state. The company’s troubles come from years of poor leadership and even worse government oversight. Combine those problems with both climate change and a housing shortage, and a crisis appears. “There’s a ton of blame to go around here,” said Christopher Knittel. He directs the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. The problem and its possible answers are the top concern for California politicians.
Title: California Crisis of Fires, Power Outages Years in the Making
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3794/cal.wav' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='California Crisis of Fires, Power Outages Years in the Making' data-article-id='4338'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='13021'>The power company that serves more than 5 million people in one of the world’s most technologically developed areas has to make a decision:</span> <span data-start-time='13021' data-end-time='19833'>turn off the electricity or risk starting wildfires.</span> <span data-start-time='19833' data-end-time='34167'>Pacific Gas & Electric, PG&E, is $30 billion in debt and needs billions more to modernize its aging power system.</span> <span data-start-time='34167' data-end-time='44917'>Many Californians are unsure as to whether the company can safely provide electricity to a large part of the state.</span> <span data-start-time='44917' data-end-time='53583'>The company’s troubles come from years of poor leadership and even worse government oversight.</span> <span data-start-time='53583' data-end-time='62479'>Combine those problems with both climate change and a housing shortage, and a crisis appears.</span> <span data-start-time='62479' data-end-time='68438'>“There’s a ton of blame to go around here,” said Christopher Knittel.</span> <span data-start-time='68438' data-end-time='79792'>He directs the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management.</span> <span data-start-time='79792' data-end-time='86833'>The problem and its possible answers are the top concern for California politicians.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3794/cal.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=14091 data-hint-location='53583' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3794/what_does_crisis_mean.wav'>What does crisis mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='time of intense difficulty'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3794/poor_leadership_and_oversight.wav'><span>poor leadership and oversight</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3794/time_of_intense_difficulty.wav'><span>time of intense difficulty</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3794/top_political_concern.wav'><span>top political concern</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3794/aging_power_system.wav'><span>aging power system</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=14092 data-hint-location='0' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3794/how_many_people_does_the_company_serve.wav'>How many people does the company serve?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='over 5 million'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3794/over_5_million.wav'><span>over 5 million</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3794/30_billion.wav'><span>30 billion</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3794/several_politicians.wav'><span>several politicians</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3794/turn_the_power_off.wav'><span>turn the power off</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=14093 data-hint-location='62479' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3794/theres_a_ton_of__blank__to_go_around.wav'>There's a ton of <span class='blank'>blame</span> to go around.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='blame'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3794/blame.wav'><span>blame</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3794/fire.wav'><span>fire</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3794/power.wav'><span>power</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3794/politicians.wav'><span>politicians</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
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