Matthew des Tombe cannot afford to lose power. He has lived on the Coastside for about a decade, and the entire time he has worked remotely.
âIf the power goes out for me â and it did â itâs kind of big a deal,â des Tombe said. âI have big meetings, important things I generally canât miss.â
Thatâs why des Tombe made sure to pair his roof-top solar panels with a backup battery, a choice he says proved well worth the investment during the PG&E power shut-offs last October. When the shut-offs happened, the Poplar Beach neighborhood where des Tombe lives went dark â all except his home, which remained illuminated. Except for a split-second flicker, all his appliances were running.