J.D. Morris

Energy Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle

J.D. Morris is a business reporter covering energy, including PG&E, Tesla and California’s clean power initiatives for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Before joining The Chronicle, he was the Sonoma County government reporter for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, where he was among the journalists awarded a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of the 2017 North Bay wildfires. He was previously the casino industry reporter for the Las Vegas Sun. Raised in Monterey County and Bakersfield, he has a bachelor’s degree in rhetoric from UC Berkeley.

Energy

Technology

PG&E

energy

utilities

Live Event Appearances

Past event

How Climate Broke California’s Biggest Utility

In the past few years, massive wildfires have devastated California, destroying thousands of homes and killing more than a hundred people. Experts say droughts and other conditions amplified by climate change are one factor. But there is more to the story.

"No matter what happens we have to hold PG&E, and whatever successor there is, accountable for negligent acts,” says Mark Toney of the Utility Reform Network.

Podcast Guest Appearances

Blackout

The 2018 Camp Fire was one of the most destructive in California’s history, resulting in over eighty deaths and destroying the town of Paradise. Dry weather and hot winds fanned the flames - but the spark that lit them came from a faulty transmission line.

“This was literally a 98-year-old line that runs through a national forest,” says Russell Gold of The Wall Street Journal. “PG&E is not even 100% sure when the last time they inspected that tower was.