18 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY DECEMBER 26, 2024-JANUARY 1, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com Power Down PG&E fails this community yet again, and nobody seems willing or able to change it. By Kayvon Malek FORUM I write this on Saturday, Dec. 14, from the home I rent in Pacific Grove, by candlelight, like some 18th-century serf. I await the sunrise to go to the nearest coffee shop with power, to post this letter expressing my disillusionment and disgust with our energy infrastructure here in the Monterey Bay. Each year, as sure as the winter solstice, we suffer several power outages. They last for varying amounts of time and affect a varying number of people. Sometimes thousands, for days at a time. I am fortunate to have traveled to many countries for work and have friends around the world. Those in firstworld nations are shocked when I speak of how my fiancé sits in the dark at home, grading homework and tests yet again. Those from developing nations nod in understanding. Then, they are shocked when I tell them the cost of our monthly energy bill. To live in one of the most sought-after, expensive locales in the world, and to sit with food rotting in the fridge, work inaccessible, must be the act of a cruel and inept creator. But I find it is instead the mismatched handiwork of Pacific Gas & Electric. I want to explain why I’m so angry at PG&E, our representatives and our municipalities for failing our communities. I want to highlight how their failures impact us. The impacts seem clear to me, but they must not see us here in the dark, year after year. First, outages harm our environment. During power outages, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of generators are turned on. They are left to run to keep life moving for residents with no other choice. These generators release exhaust and greenhouse gases. Second, they affect our economy. Small businesses are struggling to survive. Forcing them to close due to the power going out, for even a day, is cruel. Large businesses are better suited for weathering these situations. They can buy commercial-scale generators (again, harming the environment). They can discard products with little profit loss at scale. But local businesses are left behind by PG&E and governments meant to support us. As an independent contractor, if I cannot work, my pay will be delayed, but my bills will still be due—regardless of PG&E’s failure to supply the power we pay for. Third, a lack of equity. PG&E’s dystopian infrastructure and our government’s inaction hurt everyone. But they hit hardest those already struggling to support their families. Those who rely on hourly work may not have work to go to due to closures (see above). Every year as I sit in the dark, waiting for the lights to come back on, I wonder when action will be taken to improve our failing infrastructure. Some institutions serve their communities well. But some publicly subsidized private corporations appear only to care about their shareholders. If only our legislators and municipalities would make them serve their customers. But they seem either unwilling or unable to do so. Kayvon Malek is a conservation filmmaker whose work has taken him from the Arctic to Antarctica. When not traveling for work, he can be found at home in the kelp forests of Monterey Bay. OPINION They may not see us here in the dark, year after year. Prevention•Education•Treatment•Recovery Preventing alcohol and drug addiction by offering education, prevention, treatment and recovery to individuals and families regardless of income level. 287 STUDENT VOLUNTEERS participated in the drug and alcohol Prevention program, Safe Teens Empowerment Project (STEPS). June 2023 - April 2024 SUPPORT YOUTH PREVENTION SERVICES TODAY! Support youth prevention services! MontereyCountyGives.com/SunStreet Let’s make sure no grandparent goes hungry or feels alone. Donate: montereycountygives.com/mows
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