SMUD, coming to Yolo County?

SMUD, the Sacramento Municipal utilities District, has been approached by the large cities of Yolo County, Woodland, Davis and West Sacramento to provide electrical service for their citizens. A release of a independent report has found that savings are likely and service interruptions would be improved by upgrading the existing electrical infrastructure. PG&E has questions about the reports conclusions.
David Rubin, PG&E's director of service analysis, complained that the study wildly underestimates the value of PG&E's system, uses overly optimistic power price assumptions and overstates other savings.

I do not pretend to be a electrical infrastructure engineer, but I have been a customer of both companies. I did like SMUD's rates, service and it's free shade tree program was very well received by me and my neighbors. I also realize that being a rural customer is very different than being a urban customer. Out here in the hinterlands, our electrical service is hit and miss during storms and strong winds. Hit and miss is a very accurate description of the speeding lunatics that think the narrow rural roads that take them to the Indian Casino are the backstrech of the Daytona 500. Twice this year my power has gone out due to these folks smashing into power poles. It does not make much difference what names are on the poles, PG&E or SMUD. The front bumper of a speeding Honda Civic with it's windows blacked out and the radio thumping out the latest rap hits will still take down the power.

The rates I received as a SMUD customer were very reasonable, so if I lived in Woodland I would hope that SMUD does come to Yolo County. I don't think anyone living outside the I-80 Hwy113 corridor will ever see SMUD service. The customer to miles of line ratio is way to high to be profitable out here and up the valley. I just hope that if SMUD does take the low hanging fruit of the cities, that PG&E will not close it's local office and those of us out in the country will have to wait longer for a repair dispatched from further away.

That's the price we pay for a living out here. It is a price I am willing to pay.