![](/static/253f0d9b/assets/icons/icon-96x96.png)
![](https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/a8207a32-daa2-4b31-aab4-2d684fc94d18.png)
I’m not sure how it works in Europe, but power grids being privatized is a big issue in USA. It’s essentially a monopoly where one company owns and operates the grids in one or a few states. There’s no incentive to maintain the grid because there’s no competition and they receive government funding whenever a crisis like this occurs. It’s cheaper to just eat the fines than it is to buy electricity from neighboring states.
People underestimate just how massive California is. There are a lot of people across a large span of land that require electricity. I imagine the map would look very different if it was scaled by population.