It’s not just the historic heat wave that has blown transformers and caused hundreds of thousands of power outages across the Bay Area and California, the San Jose Mercury News reports. The state’s residents are also falling victim to their increasing thirst for electricity.
And as utility officials reassess their systems in the wake of this week’s troubles, many of them are beginning to ask a pointed question: Do we need to consider major, expensive upgrades — not just to make it through the next string of 100-degree-plus days, but to handle the average summer?
