Waiting for Grid-Oh!: An Anthropological Investigation of Electrical Dysfunction During a Time of Fire and Darkness

Abstract

This anthropological thesis and ethnography explores the role that electricity plays in the lives of those who have experienced fire and/or darkness. PG&E, the largest utility company in Northern California is currently facing criminal punishment for its negligence in maintaining its grid, which resulted in the loss of eighty-five innocent people and the destruction of Paradise, parts of Concow, and other areas in the California Burn Scar. Given this infrastructural mismanagement, PG&E is now enacting purposeful blackouts to reduce its risk of causing more wildfires. This thesis discusses the complexities and nuances of electricity, its role, and its interpretation in an environment that continues to face its own challenges at the hands of the utility.