DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Cruise disputes claim that its autonomous vehicle delayed first responders
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Gia Vang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A Cruise self-driving car, which is owned by General Motors Corp, is seen outside the company's headquarters in San Francisco. The company Cruise is pushing back against an accusation from the San Francisco Fire Department, which claims that one of the company's autonomous vehicles delayed an ambulance after a deadly accident. The department said emergency medical service crews faced a problem getting to the collision: two Cruise taxis blocking the road. But NBC Bay Area was able to review a nearly 13 minute video which is purportedly the incident in question. It appears to show what the company describes, including the ambulance managing to squeeze by the stopped Cruise car.

Persons: Cruise, It's, Aaron Peskin, Peskin Organizations: General Motors Corp, San Francisco Fire Department, NBC, Area, California Public Utilities Commission, Cruise Locations: San Francisco

The suits allege that downed power lines operated by the company contributed to the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. The wildfire risk posed by aboveground power lines is well documented. Lives lost, billions in damagesThe Maui fires have killed at least 115 people with hundreds still missing. But Mitchell said insulating aboveground power lines with a protective covering is also an effective solution that is cheaper and can be rolled out more quickly. There is also technology coming to market that can de-energize power lines automatically when there's a problem, he said.

Persons: Mike Blake, Fitch, Berkshire Hathaway's, Paul Starita, They're, Singleton Schreiber, Alexandra von Meier, von Meier, Marshall, Michael Dougherty, Bob Frenzel, Xcel, Berkshire Hathaway, PacifiCorp, aboveground, Scott Aaronson, Aaronson, Joseph Mitchell, Mitchell Organizations: Reuters Electric, Hawaiian Electric, National Weather Service, Hawaii Electric, . Pacific Gas & Electric, PG, Xcel Energy, U.S . Forest Service, University of California, Moody's, Fitch, Electric, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, Xcel, Marshall Fire, Marshall, Boulder, Labor, Fire, American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE, The Edison Electric Institute, California Public Utilities Commission Locations: Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, U.S, Maui County, Hurricane, California, Berkshire, Berkshire Hathaway's PacifiCorp, Oregon, Colorado, Berkeley, Minnesota, Boulder County, Paradise, Golden

☆ San Francisco officials want to stop robotaxis operating 24/7 after one got stuck in concrete and others caused traffic chaos
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

San Francisco is getting ready to tell robotaxi operators: not so fast. San Francisco wants robotaxi operators to slow things down amid a series of unfortunate events. San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu filed motions to the California Public Utilities Commission, the regulatory body that voted in favor of full-scale robotaxi services this month, asking for permits to be temporarily suspended, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. Previously, Waymo could only offer rides without charge and Cruise was limited to operating in about a third of San Francisco. However, San Francisco residents have been increasingly vocal about their city becoming a dangerous test-bed for driverless car technology amid fears the robotaxis will cause havoc.

Persons: Francisco, Cruise, General Motors, David Chiu, Aaron Peskin, Axios, Waymo Organizations: General, California Public Utilities Commission, San Francisco Chronicle, Cruise, San Francisco, of Supervisors, San Locations: San Francisco, San Francisco City

☆ Self-driving car company Cruise agreed to reduce its driverless fleet by 50% after a spate of recent crashes. San Francisco officials previously pushed for a slower rollout of robotaxis.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

City officials previously told Insider the approval would be "premature." Cruise, a self-driving car company, agreed to slash its driverless taxi operation in San Francisco by half on Friday following reports of two separate crashes involving its vehicles. One Cruise vehicle also drove into wet concrete at a construction site. Another collision occurred that evening, in which another vehicle ran a red light "at a high rate of speed," the company told Insider. Tilly Chang, executive director of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA), previously told Insider that her agency believes approving the permits would be "premature."

Persons: Alphabet's Waymo, Darcie Houck, robotaxis, Cruise, San Francisco, Tilly Chang, Chang, We've, Joe Castiglione, SFCTA's, CPUC, Castiglione Organizations: California Department of Motor Vehicles, DMV, California Public Utilities Commission, CBS, City, San, San Francisco County Transportation Authority Locations: California, San Francisco, San Francisco County, —

☆ California regulator probes crashes involving GM's Cruise robotaxis
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A Cruise self-driving car, which is owned by General Motors Corp, is seen outside the company's headquarters in San Francisco where it does most of its testing, in California, U.S., September 26, 2018. The statement from California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) came after a Cruise robotaxi was involved in a crash with an emergency vehicle in San Francisco late on Thursday, the latest accident involving the self-driving cars. The two have been running robotaxi tests limited by times and geographic areas within San Francisco. San Francisco will suffer serious harms from this unfettered expansion," he said in a statement. Reporting by Abhirup Roy and Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco; editing by Diane Craft and Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Heather Somerville, robotaxi, Cruise, David Chiu, Abhirup Roy, Hyunjoo Jin, Diane Craft, Sonali Paul Organizations: General Motors Corp, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, General Motors, California Department of Motor Vehicles, DMV, San Francisco Police Department, Reuters, California Public Utilities Commission, City, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, California, U.S, Cruise

☆ As well as 24-hour robotaxis, San Francisco now has a driverless bus service too
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A driverless bus will run a seven-stop loop around Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. San Francisco authorities last week allowed driverless taxis to operate 24 hours a day. Just a week after allowing robotaxis to operate around the clock, San Francisco has launched an driverless shuttle bus service. A day after the announcement, a number of self-driving cars stalled in San Francisco, leading to a bizarre traffic jam captured on video. Beep and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.

Persons: Shelly Caran, John Reynolds Organizations: Miami Zoo, Associated Press, Passengers, AP, California Public Utilities Commission, San, San Francisco County Transportation Authority Locations: San Francisco Bay, San Francisco, Francisco, Florida, Yellowstone, San Francisco County

☆ GM's Cruise robotaxi collides with fire truck in San Francisco
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Initial investigation shows the collision occurred when a fire truck was operating in an emergency with its forward facing red lights and siren on, the San Francisco Police Department said in a statement to Reuters. The San Francisco Fire Department did not respond to requests for comment. The two have been running robotaxi tests limited by times and geographic areas within San Francisco. San Francisco will suffer serious harms from this unfettered expansion," he said in a statement. Reporting by Abhirup Roy in San Francisco; editing by Diane CraftOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Heather Somerville, robotaxi, Cruise, David Chiu, Abhirup Roy, Diane Craft Organizations: General Motors Corp, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, General Motors, Twitter, San Francisco Police Department, Reuters, Cruise, San Francisco Fire Department, California Public Utilities Commission, City, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, California, U.S, Cruise

☆ Cruise Agrees to Reduce Driverless Car Fleet in San Francisco After Crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Yiwen Lu | More About Yiwen Lu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Less than a day after one of its driverless taxis collided with a fire truck in a San Francisco intersection, Cruise agreed on Friday to a request from state regulators to cut in half the number of vehicles it was operating in the city. On Friday, the California Department of Motor Vehicles, which regulates the safety of the driverless cars, asked Cruise to halve the number of vehicles it was operating in San Francisco. The Cruise vehicle’s collision with a fire truck the day before had injured a passenger in the driverless car. Earlier in the week, another Cruise vehicle got stuck in newly poured concrete on another city street. The company, which now has 400 vehicles operating in San Francisco, will have no more than 50 driverless cars running during the day and 150 at night.

Persons: Cruise Organizations: California Public Utilities Commission, General Motors, Google, California Department of Motor Vehicles Locations: San Francisco, Cruise

☆ A driverless car in San Francisco drove right into wet concrete and got stuck after seemingly mistaking it for a regular road: 'It ain't got a brain'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A driverless Cruise car got temporarily stuck in wet concrete in San Francisco on Tuesday. A driverless Cruise car with no passengers got stuck in wet concrete at a construction site in San Francisco on Tuesday, SFGATE first reported. "It thinks it's a road and it ain't because it ain't got a brain and it can't tell that it's freshly poured concrete," Harvey told SFGATE. A rise in commercial AVs in San Francisco would "inevitably lead to an increase in traffic congestion and the number of dangerous incidents," Chiu's office said in a press release. "San Francisco will suffer serious harms from this unfettered expansion, which outweigh whatever impacts AV companies may experience from a minimal pause in commercial deployment."

Persons: SFGATE, Paul Harvey, Harvey, Rachel Gordon, Cruise, Gordon, David Chiu, Chiu, Waymo Organizations: San Francisco Department of Public, New York Times, Times, California Public Utilities Commission, General Motors, Google Locations: San Francisco, California, SF, Francisco

☆ Cruise robocabs got stuck in San Francisco, causing a bizarre traffic jam, which the company blamed on a festival taking up too much wireless bandwidth
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Some self-driving Cruise cars created a traffic jam when they stalled in San Francisco on Friday night. Self-driving Cruise cars stalled in San Francisco on Friday night, leading to a bizarre traffic jam captured on video. Reports suggest that around 10 Cruise cars were involved in the buildup, which is said to have lasted for about 15 or 20 minutes. The San Francisco Standard reported that Cruise cars also stalled on other streets near Golden Gate Park that night, leading to a road closure. He told The Los Angeles Times that he was inundated with texts, emails, and videos from constituents about the stalled cars.

Persons: Cruise, Kendrick Lamar, Janelle Monáe, Aaron Peskin, Jeffrey Bilbrey, KPIX, CPUC, AVs, John Reynolds Organizations: Morning, California Public Utilities Commission, Cruise, General Motors, Google, San Francisco Standard, San Francisco, Supervisors, Los Angeles Times Locations: San Francisco, California, Beach, Golden, North Beach

☆ Driverless cars stall in San Francisco, causing a brief traffic jam
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —San Francisco residents were caught off guard this weekend after Cruise self-driving cars caused a traffic jam, according to social media posts. The obstruction came a few days after California regulators approved robotaxi companies to operate their driverless cars 24/7 throughout the city. One account, FriscoLive415, said the incident was a “complete meltdown.”Witnesses told CNN affiliate KPIX-TV that the driverless cars were blocking intersections Friday evening for about 15 minutes, causing concern that driverless cars could impede emergency vehicles from accessing the area. That means residents and visitors to San Francisco will be able to pay a fare to ride in a driverless taxi, ushering in new automated competition to cab and ridehail drivers. The San Francisco Police Officers Association, San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs’ Association and the San Francisco Fire Fighters Local 798 all wrote letters to the CPUC expressing concerns that autonomous vehicles could impede emergency responders.

Persons: FriscoLive415, Cruise, it’s “, ”, ” Cruise, Cruise didn’t, ” Aaron Peskin, Peskin, Drew Pusateri, Tracy McCray Organizations: New, New York CNN, Twitter, CNN, San, Supervisors, Los Angeles Times, California Public Utilities Commission, Waymo, San Francisco Police, Association, San Francisco, Sheriffs ’ Association, San Francisco Fire Fighters, “, San Francisco Fire Department Locations: New York, San Francisco, California, Beach, San Francisco’s, North Beach

☆ San Francisco moves to center of robotaxi universe after California agency vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Greg Bensinger | Thomson Reuters | Greg Bensinger Joined Reuters As A Technology Correspondent In Focusing On The World'S Largest Technology Companies. He Was Previously A Member Of The New York Times Editorial Board | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Cruise and Waymo have been running experimental services limited by times and geographic areas within San Francisco. The approval “marks the true beginning of our commercial operations in San Francisco,” said Tekedra Mawakana, Waymo co-CEO, in a prepared statement. San Francisco is important as both a symbolic hub of tech and, with hundreds of AVs already in operation, the largest test lab for the experimental cars. The vehicles, with empty driver seats and self-turning steering wheels, have become a common sight around San Francisco. Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma advocated for a delayed vote noting the volume of public comment and her lingering concerns following evidence that the vehicles have obstructed emergency vehicles in San Francisco.

Persons: Heather Somerville, Waymo, Motors ’, John Reynolds, AVs, Cruise, ”, Tekedra Mawakana, Prashanthi Raman, Uber, Genevieve Shiroma, Greg Bensinger, Jamie Freed, Diane Craft Organizations: General Motors Corp, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, Motors, California Public Utilities Commission, Transportation, Cruise, Locals, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, Technologists, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, California, U.S, San Francisco's, Francisco

☆ San Francisco's robotaxi dream has been realized, but some locals and campaigners think things are about to spin out of control
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

On Thursday, California regulators voted in favor of expanding robotaxi services across the city. On Thursday, regulators at the California Public Utilities Commission voted 3-to-1 in favor of greenlighting the expansion of robotaxi services across the entirety of San Francisco. This signaled their confidence in the safety of driverless vehicles for more than 800,000 citizens. It is this that will linger in the minds of San Francisco's residents as robotaxis go mainstream in the city. This does, of course, pale in comparison with the number of accidents that take place daily in regular vehicles, but it highlights challenges for driverless vehicles nonetheless.

Persons: Cruise, Prashanthi Raman, hasn't, robotaxis Organizations: Morning, Golden, Traffic Safety Administration, California Public Utilities Commission, General Motors, EV, Cruise, LinkedIn, Reuters Locations: Francisco's, California, San Francisco, Silicon Valley

☆ Robotaxis get the green light to roam the streets of San Francisco at any hour of the day
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Cruise and Waymo got the go-ahead from state officials Thursday to offer driverless rides 24/7. Robotaxi companies Cruise and Waymo have been given the go-ahead from state officials to offer driverless rides in San Francisco at any hour of the day. Before it got the green light from officials, Cruise and Waymo had been authorized to offer its services from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m in limited areas of San Francisco. "Today's permit marks the true beginning of our commercial operations in San Francisco," Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said in a blog post . San Francisco firefighters were forced to smash the front window of a Cruise driverless taxi in January to stop it from running over their hoses as they were engaged in active firefighting.

Persons: Cruise, Waymo, CPUC, Kyle Vogt, Tekedra Mawakana, Darcie Houck, Francisco firefighters, AVs, John Reynolds, Waymo didn't Organizations: California Public Utilities, Morning, California Public Utilities Commission Locations: California, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Mountain, Francisco

☆ California agency approves San Francisco robotaxi expansion amid heavy opposition
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In an aerial view, Waymo autonomous vehicles sit parked in a staging area on June 08, 2023 in San Francisco, California. Justin Sullivan | Getty ImagesAlphabet Inc's Waymo and General Motors' Cruise can operate paid robotaxi services using unmanned self-driving vehicles throughout San Francisco, California state regulators voted on Thursday, in the face of vigorous pushback from city transportation, safety agencies and many residents. The move marks a critical step forward in regulating the robot cars, which Waymo, Cruise and others have been systematically rolling out in cities and states around the nation. San Francisco, however, is important as a both symbolic hub of tech and, with over 500 autonomous vehicles already in operation, it is the largest test lab for the experimental cars. The vehicles, with empty driver seats and self-turning steering wheels, have become a common sight around San Francisco.

Persons: Justin Sullivan, –, Cruise, Uber, Waymo Organizations: General Motors, California Public Utilities Commission, Locals Locations: San Francisco , California, San Francisco

☆ Regulators give green light to driverless taxis in San Francisco
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Nadia Bidarian | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

San Francisco first responders, city transportation leaders and local activists are among those who shared concerns about the technology. “Today’s permit marks the true beginning of our commercial operations in San Francisco,” said Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO of Waymo, in a press release. Until Thursday’s vote, Cruise and Waymo could offer only limited service to San Francisco residents. The San Francisco Police Officers Association, San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs’ Association and the San Francisco Fire Fighters Local 798 all wrote letters to the CPUC in the week leading up to the originally scheduled vote on June 29. 2022 was the worst year on record for traffic fatalities in San Francisco since 2014, according to city data.

Persons: Cruise, “, ”, Tekedra Mawakana, Drew Pusateri, General Motors, Matthew Sutter, Justin Sullivan, Critics, Tracy McCray, Jeanine Nicholson, ” Nicholson, Waymo, Genevieve Shiroma, ” Shiroma Organizations: CNN, Cruise, San Francisco, California Public Utilities Commission, Waymo, General, Francisco, San, San Francisco Police, Association, Sheriffs ’ Association, San Francisco Fire Fighters, San Francisco Fire Department, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Locations: California, San Francisco, San, Waymo, San Francisco , California, “

☆ California agency to vote on San Francisco robotaxi expansion amid heavy opposition
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Greg Bensinger | Thomson Reuters | Greg Bensinger Joined Reuters As A Technology Correspondent In Focusing On The World'S Largest Technology Companies. He Was Previously A Member Of The New York Times Editorial Board | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A Cruise self-driving car, which is owned by General Motors Corp, is seen outside the company's headquarters in San Francisco where it does most of its testing, in California, U.S., September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Heather Somerville/File PhotoSAN FRANCISCO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Amid strenuous pushback from San Francisco officials and many residents, a California state agency is set to vote on Thursday on a proposal to allow the city to be blanketed in self-driving taxis at all hours. But the vote at the meeting that begins at 11 a.m. PDT (1800 GMT) comes amid vigorous opposition from transportation and safety agencies in San Francisco. The CPUC has twice delayed the vote, in part because of the mounting opposition. Outfitted with spinning sensors, Waymo and Cruise vehicles are an arresting sight around San Francisco, particularly to visitors unaccustomed to cars with no human driver behind the wheel.

Persons: Heather Somerville, Cruise, Waymo, Greg Bensinger, Jamie Freed Organizations: General Motors Corp, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, San Francisco, Motors, California Public Utilities Commission, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, California, U.S, San

☆ San Francisco Balks at Expanding Driverless Car Services on City’s Roads
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Yiwen Lu | More About Yiwen Lu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Over the past year or so, a jarring sight has become common in San Francisco: driverless cars buzzing around the city’s streets with no one at the wheel and an expensive array of electronic sensors guiding the way. But a plan by two companies to expand driverless taxi services in San Francisco has met stiff resistance from city officials and some activists. The fight has become a Rorschach test for local tolerance of the tech industry’s new ideas: Are the driverless cars an interesting and safe transportation alternative? With more than 800,000 residents, hilly San Francisco is the second most densely populated city in the country. Whether self-driving cars can succeed in the city will be a harbinger for their viability in other communities.

Persons: Cruise Organizations: California Public Utilities Commission, General Motors Locations: San Francisco, California

☆ San Francisco drives tech; will it drive away robot taxis?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Greg Bensinger | Thomson Reuters | Greg Bensinger Joined Reuters As A Technology Correspondent In Focusing On The World'S Largest Technology Companies. He Was Previously A Member Of The New York Times Editorial Board | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/3] A Cruise self-driving car, which is owned by General Motors Corp, is seen outside the company?s headquarters in San Francisco where it does most of its testing, in California, U.S., September 26, 2018. Futuristic test vehicles from Cruise and Waymo are a common sight in some parts of San Francisco. The vote comes at a critical time for San Francisco, which is grappling with thousands of tech job losses, firms leaving the city, and COVID-era work-from-home policies that have contributed to a hollowed out downtown. loadingRamón Iglesias, another San Francisco resident, said that though he’d seen the videos and some erratic behavior from the cars, he supports the expansion and worries any further obstacles could drive tech companies away. “We have a very strong Luddite segment here in San Francisco and you see places like Las Vegas and Miami go out of their way to embrace tech,” said Iglesias, a data scientist.

Persons: Heather Somerville, Waymo, ”, Kyle Vogt, X, ” Cruise, San Francisco, Cruise, Julia Ilina, Mike Smith, Ramón Iglesias, he’d, Iglesias, “, London Breed, Greg Bensinger, Peter Henderson, Diane Craft Organizations: General Motors Corp, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, Motors, San, San Francisco County Transportation Authority, Cruise, California Public Utilities Commission, Las, Ford, Tesla, Francisco, FIRST, ”, London, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, California, U.S, Francisco, San, San Francisco County, State, dazzled, Dallas, Miami, Las Vegas, Los Angeles

☆ Why the electric vehicle boom could put a major strain on the U.S. power grid
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Katie Brigham | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Over half of all new cars sold in the U.S. by 2030 are expected to be electric vehicles. That could put a major strain on our nation's electric grid, an aging system built for a world that runs on fossil fuels. Major grid infrastructure needsCharging electric vehicles is quite electricity intensive. Larger electric vehicles such as the Ford F-150 Lightning would generally use more electricity than a central AC unit in a large home. The utility is tied to a four-year funding cycle for grid infrastructure upgrades, and its last funding request was in 2021.

Persons: That's, we've, Rob Gramlich, Gramlich, Lydia Krefta, Krefta, David Paul Morris, Aram Shumavon, Shumavon, we're, Sen, Joe Manchin, Joe Biden, Tesla Organizations: Rapid Energy, Princeton University, Grid, California Public Utilities Commission, EV, Tesla, Ford, Workers, Power Services, Pacific Gas & Electric, Bloomberg, Getty, Nissan Leaf, Ford Motor Company Locations: U.S, California, Northern, Central California, Healdsburg , California

☆ California's electricity bills could soon be based on how much you make — and some people are furious
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Brad Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A California law would set a sliding scale for electricity bills based on a household's income. It doesn't totally take out of the equation how much power each household uses: Part of each bill will still be based on that. But each bill also will have "fixed charges" that will be set based on income. Cities like Los Angeles need to build out their electric system to deal with increased demand. "This makes it cheaper to use electricity to operate electric cars or appliances," the NRDC argues — something that could become key in stoking demand for EVs.

Persons: that's, —, you've, Erik Von Weber, That's, they've, it's Organizations: Service, Privacy, Washington Post, California Public Utilities Commission, Pacific Gas & Electric San Diego Gas & Electric Southern Cal, Edison, The Washington Post, Getty, Natural Resources Defense Council Locations: California, Los Angeles, San Diego, Eureka

☆ A 30-ton shipment of explosive chemicals traveling from Wyoming to California by rail disappeared en route, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A 30-ton shipment of ammonium nitrate disappeared from a railcar, KQED reported. Officials are investigating the disappearance of a 30-ton shipment of ammonium nitrate, a chemical used to make both fertilizer and explosives, PBS affiliate KQED reported. A Federal Railroad Administration representative, however, told KQED that its own investigation suggested that one of the hopper car gates wasn't properly closed. Union Pacific, which transported the railcar, and the California Public Utilities Commission told KQED that they were also investigating. Dyno Nobel told KQED that it had "limited control" over the railcar while it was in transit and that it was being moved back to Wyoming for inspection.

☆ US home solar installers brace for slowdown as California reform looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Nichola Groom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

California boasts 38% of the nation's residential solar capacity, buttressing the U.S. market's 40% surge in 2022, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association trade group. More than 1.5 million Golden State homes have solar, state data show. They and others have noted a spike in California installations this year as consumers scrambled to get systems connected before the policy change on April 15. California Solar & Storage Association Executive Director Bernadette Del Chiaro called the transition difficult. Residential solar installers are already grappling with higher interest rates that cut into the value of financed systems, and tighter available credit.

☆ Why Blackouts, Power Outages Are Becoming More Common
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Taylor Dorrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Power outages have increased 64% from the early 2000s, and weather-related outages — many driven by the worsening climate crisis — have increased 78%. A record-breaking blizzard in Buffalo, New York, this winter caused power outages throughout the city, resulting in the deaths of 47 residents. In 2021, a heat wave led to power outages and the deaths of hundreds in the Pacific Northwest. While regional organizations might use fees to penalize companies for power outages, it's now much harder to pinpoint and hold a person or entity responsible. In the meantime, the climate crisis will continue to wreak havoc on an aging grid system that puts profits over reliability.

☆ A little-known renewable energy stock could rally more than 20%, UBS says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

UBS thinks Ormat Technologies , a little-known geothermal and renewable energy company, could see big earnings growth in the coming years, creating a promising buying opportunity for investors. UBS sees multiple tailwinds ahead for the company, such as new geothermal, solar and storage capacity additions, as well as improving backlog and margins. Ormat is also anticipated to benefit from state and federal policy support for renewable energy. However, he said that "the recent underperformance provides investors with a buying opportunity ahead of the coming growth recovery." Windham raised his price target to $105 from $103, implying a 24.2% upside from the stock's closing price on Tuesday.

Search resuls for: "The California Public Utilities"

25 mentions found