[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 168 (Wednesday, October 23, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H8397]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       THE NEW NORMAL: BLACKOUTS

  (Mr. HARDER of California asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. HARDER of California. Madam Speaker, I rise in frustration for my 
constituents in California's Central Valley. Folks across my community 
are reeling from blackouts caused by greed, corruption, and 
mismanagement at our State's largest utility, PG&E.
  I am not the only one who is fed up. More than 1,000 people in my 
district had their power cut by PG&E, some for days.
  Now the company is saying more blackouts could be coming this week 
and that it could be the new normal for the next decade. I refuse to 
accept that.
  Regular people can't choose to not pay their bills, and PG&E 
shouldn't be able to abuse that fact by refusing to invest in their 
grid. These blackouts are happening because rich executives decided to 
give themselves millions of dollars in bonuses instead of investing in 
their crumbling infrastructure.
  Hundreds of thousands of people lost power because of these 
executives' greed. PG&E even proposed handing out another $16 million 
in additional bonuses this year. It took a judge to stop their plan. 
Meanwhile, their shutoffs are estimated to cost our families more than 
$2 billion.

                          ____________________