The fear of devastating wildfires at this time of global warming has caused the public to abandon rational thinking and to acquiesce in the preemptive shutdown of electricity whenever the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. deems it necessary.

There are strong arguments for opposing blackouts; there is even greater reason, should we continue to have them, for not entrusting PG&E to make the decision. The company safety record is abominable; a federal court even found PG&E guilty of criminal conduct in its safety operations.

There were six criminal convictions of PG&E in the gas line explosion and fire which killed eight people in San Bruno in 2010. PG&E employees testified that the company had used low-cost inspection methods, methods which could not detect flaws inside the pipe. Shockingly, PG&E was also found guilty of obstructing the investigation of the San Bruno blast.

PG&E has admitted that its equipment caused 17 wildfires in Northern California in 2017, mostly by power lines contacting tree branches. Cal Fire has charged that 11 of the 17 fires involved a PG&E violation of state laws. These fires killed a total of 22 people.

PG&E recently reported to the Wall Street Journal that more than 16,000 sections of its high-power lines throughout Northern California fell between 2013 and 2017.

This year a federal district judge, William Alsup, lashed out at PG&E for paying out $4.5 billion to shareholders in recent years, money that should have gone toward the conducting of responsible safety operations. He called on PG&E to quit killing people.

It was a very old PG&E transmission tower that malfunctioned last year and caused the Camp Fire. The town of Paradise was destroyed; 86 people died. The Wall Street Journal obtained documents showing that PG&E had known for five years of high-voltage lines in the area that could fail, but the company did not make the necessary upgrades. The Carbone-Palermo line that broke down was built in 1921.

It’s important to understand that PG&E has a monetary interest in preemptively shutting off power. PG&E is a private business and is required to look after its shareholders. Isn’t it possible that PG&E just might cut power when doing so is not really called for just to protect against lawsuits and to benefit shareholders? How can we know if any blackout was really justified? We must anticipate that PG&E will have less restraint in deciding on a blackout because it knows it will not be held liable for the enormous damages that are likely to accompany the blackouts, which we are told could be very widespread and last up to five days.

It’s very important to keep in mind that preemptive power shutdowns can help only from fires caused by PG&E equipment. Records of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection show that the vast majority of wildfires in California are caused by various types of human failure (sparking equipment, smoking, vehicles, arson etc.) together with lightning strikes. For example, it was an unwitting guy who caused a spark when he struck a metal stake with his hammer, igniting the huge Ranch Fire of 2018 in Mendocino. The disastrous Oakland Hills wildfire of 1991, which killed 25 people, was caused by rototill equipment.

It’s critical for the public to be aware of the astronomical costs that could arise from a preemptive power blackout. Seniors will be in danger from a lack of air conditioning. Food in dead refrigerators will rot. There will be no lights, TV, computers or ATMs. Phones may not work. Businesses will be crippled, especially from collapse of the credit-card system. Gasoline pumps and traffic lights are likely to be out, at least in part. Water supplies might be affected; if they are, schools could be forced to shut down and fire-fighting efforts hampered.

Already, businesses are starting to spend lots of money to purchase generators. Much of this spending will likely prove unnecessary; still, the costs will no doubt be passed on to the general public. Improper storage of gasoline needed for newly-purchased generators at homes could be very dangerous.

The world faces the enormous challenge of global warming. We in California need to practice calm rationality in dealing with one aspect of our environmental crisis: wildfire. PG&E is clearly not qualified to decide on preemptive electrical blackouts. Most important, the arguments for not having such blackouts at all are far more powerful than those in favor.

PG&E has demonstrated, through its incompetent and even criminal safety practices, that it has forfeited its right to provide gas and electricity to the citizens of California. PG&E with its profit motive is in conflict with the common good. We need a replacement, a public entity we can trust.

Angelo Douvos, of Novato, is a retired San Rafael High School teacher