When Silicon Valley Goes Dark This Time, There Will Be No Refuge
- In 2019, 3 million lost power; this year adds Covid-19 fears
- Drought conditions suggest worse-than-normal fire season ahead
Homes during a blackout in Sausalito, California, in Oct., 2019.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Blackouts that hit millions of Californians in 2019 could be doubly calamitous this year with tech giants Google, Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc. among the many companies keeping offices closed until the fall or later in response to the global Covid-19 pandemic.
If utilities cut power again, home offices set up during the pandemic could go dark and stay dark for days, and they’ll have no corporate offices to flee to for power. In October 2019, more than 3 million people were affected by a series of rolling blackouts over more than a week as PG&E Corp. and Edison International tried to prevent live wires from sparking wildfires.