4: ‘California, Wildfires, and PG&E: The Neverending Utility Story’ with John Benson

In the fourth episode of the Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast, we tackle one of the most high profile and complex issues facing the utility sector today, and that’s the ongoing situation in California as PG&E, the state and local governments, and residents continue to deal with the aftermath of raging wildfires in 2017 and 2018. As this situation continues to evolve with new twists and turns, the Energy Central community has been able to rely on John Benson, California resident and veteran of the energy industry, to keep them apprised of the latest developments and their implications. John’s utility sector career has taken him all over the spectrum, and today he finds himself as senior consultant for Microgrid Labs where he develops, plans, and designs microgrid projects, but he also spends much of his time researching and analyzing the energy sector and disseminating his findings and insights into white paper resources for Energy Central. Because he makes his home in the Golden State and because the topic is unavoidable for anyone whose work ties into the grid, John finds himself coming back to the PG&E situation time and again. As such, we figured it was well past time to have John as a guest on the Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast so we could dive in even further. Key Links: John Benson’s Energy Central profile: https://www.energycentral.com/member/profile/200777 “California v. PG&E”: https://www.energycentral.com/c/pip/california-v-pge “New / Old Municipal Utility”: https://www.energycentral.com/c/pip/new-old-major-municipal-utility “California Wildfires, Utilities and Grid Resiliency”: https://www.energycentral.com/c/pip/california-wildfires-utilities-and-grid-resilience “California Wildfires, Utilities and Grid Resilience - Part 2”: https://www.energycentral.com/c/pip/california-wildfires-utilities-and-grid-resiliency-part-2 Link to register as a member of the Energy Central community: www.energycentral.com/user/register Energy Central Post with More Details: https://energycentral.com/c/um/energy-central-power-perspectives%E2%84%A2-podcast-episode-4-%E2%80%98california-wildfires-and