The survey was run after the utility provider went bankrupt, leaving it with the conundrum of paying $13.5bn worth of settlements. The poll was run by the Institute of Government Studies at UC Berkeley and the LA Times quizzed thousands of people in Bay Area cities such as San Rafael. Nearly a quarter (23%) of the people surveyed in San Francisco believe that the company should be broken down into several smaller cooperatives that will be run by the local counties.
With this new model, each county and city will be responsible for serving its own area. Brochure printing can be used to update shareholders if such changes are implemented.
Another 23% believe that PG&E should be converted into a state-owned agency. Ran Johnson from San Jose said:
“I think it’s somewhat ridiculous that big portions of the Bay have to go without power for a week at a time.”
San Jose’s Mayor Sam Liccardo put in a proposal to have PG&E converted into a co-op owned by the customers, and this is getting a lot of support. More than 100 elected officials coming from all over the state are endorsing this proposal.
Only 7% of the people polled want PG&E to be sold to another utility company, and just 10% feel that PG&E should keep operating once it works out its bankruptcy issues.