Daily Post Staff Writer
As the city of Palo Alto moves from natural gas to electric, some council members said last night (April 19) they’re worried about whether the city’s electrical grid can withstand the additional strain.
The city has experienced three power outages in three weeks, and last night Vice Mayor Pat Burt suggested it’s time to put more money into the city’s grid.
“We need to make sure we have a highly reliable system. We’ve seen recently that we have under-invested in that (system) in recent years,” Burt said.
Burt mentioned potentially raising the city’s electric rates to improve the city’s grid. He said the city’s electric rates are about 40% less than PG&E’s rates. He said an average resident would likely be more inclined to pay 20-30% less than PG&E customers to have a more reliable system.