California power outages highlight economic disparity
CATHY BUSSEWITZ
AP Business Writer
When the nation's largest utility warned customers that it would cut power to nearly 2 million people across Northern California, many rushed out to buy portable generators, knowing the investment could help sustain them during blackouts.
Others had the security of knowing they could rely on solar panels and batteries installed in their homes.
But many families impacted by the blackouts are struggling from paycheck to paycheck and don't have the luxury of buying backup power.
The blackouts are highlighting a divide in a region with growing income disparity where access to electricity is increasingly available to those who can afford to pay.
Communities in the San Francisco Bay Area are already reeling from economic imbalance as the tech industry ha