John Hjorth Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 Thanks, @Cigarbutt, So it's indeed far from trivial how to move forward from here for BHE, based on capital allocation, based on reason. Just to post some facts related to my own home bias, ref. your post : Areas : Denmark : 42,952 km2 [ex. areas of Greenland and Faroe Islands] California : 423,970 km2 Oregon : 254,810 km2. Next one add a new dimension : Total population. Then one add population density, and maps of how it's distributed, etc. etc. - - - o 0 o - - - There is a lot to do! -But if the involved americans aren't going to pay for what they will get, they will get exactly that : nothing! In a way, that's fine with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cigarbutt Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 4 hours ago, John Hjorth said: So it's indeed far from trivial how to move forward from here for BHE, based on capital allocation, based on reason. ... Thank you for the exchange. Obviously, the two of 'us' can't figure this out. However, 'we' don't need to and can sleep well, assuming 'they' will eventually figure it out. The idea behind going into energy decades ago included that assumption. So much to discuss and so little time... ----- Finally, 'we' have some snow in my area. Time to get opportunistically moving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpha Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 1/27/2024 at 12:30 PM, John Hjorth said: Thanks, @RadMan24, That's not so hard to do something about. Danish style solution is, - and has been for now about two decades, I think, to dig - all powerlines - into the ground, smashing more than one flie in one slap : Not only [reverse?] fire protection, but also storm protection and frost protection [think Texas not so long ago]. Burying power lines is non-trivial, there are parasitic energy losses from the change in capacitance when the wire is placed closer to the earth. I believe this is not an issue in "distribution" lines, but for "transmission" lines it would require changing to a HVDC system which requires expensive equipment and limits distance. From what I have read it was "transmission" lines blamed for these fires. There are numerous other factors to consider too; for example I believe above ground lines have been proven to be more resilient in seismically active areas, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogermunibond Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 It's not just wildfire suppression and general land use policy by BLM and State agencies like CalFire. Many homeowners in these wildfire risk areas haven't done the work on their own properties to reduce wildfire risk. Concrete shingles, siding, clearing trees around the homes. https://www.fire.ca.gov/dspace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longterminvestor Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 (edited) https://www.wsj.com/finance/warren-buffett-is-getting-dragged-into-the-real-estate-commissions-litigation-79696153?mod=finance_lead_pos3 More litigation at the energy business, not from wildfires, from Real Estate commissions. Litigation risk for a large conglomerate is something I haven't factored into Berkshire, will do that with more care. Article mentions the below from Annual Report disclosure: "Based on available information to date, HomeServices believes losses are likely to occur as a result of the jury verdict in the Burnett case and that such damages could be up to $5.4 billion, excluding attorneys’ fees, prejudgment interest and other costs subject to determination by the court. However, HomeServices is currently unable to reasonably estimate such loss due to, among other reasons, the joint and several nature of the liability and the early stages of the appeals process." Edited March 5 by longterminvestor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValueMaven Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 Good luck to anyone trying to battle Munger, Tolles, and Olsen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbwent63 Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 1 hour ago, ValueMaven said: Good luck to anyone trying to battle Munger, Tolles, and Olsen +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hektor Posted March 7 Share Posted March 7 https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/03/07/ai-data-centers-power/ Quote Amid explosive demand, America is running out of power. AI and the boom in clean-tech manufacturing are pushing America’s power grid to the brink. Utilities can’t keep up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfp Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 One of MidAmerican's wind farms in Iowa was hit by a recent tornado there. Looks like only 5 turbines were destroyed but it made me wonder if MidAmerican buys insurance for this type of thing and if BRK parent writes the insurance. https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/05/23/powerful-tornado-topples-wind-turbines-in-us-experts-say-such-destruction-is-extremely-rar drone footage of a tornado here https://www.techeblog.com/drone-tornado-wind-turbine-iowa/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfp Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 Another settlement - chipping away at it https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/warren-buffetts-pacificorp-utility-reaches-178-million-wildfire-settlement-2024-06-03/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saluki Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 I think one of Buffett's underappreciated skills is his ability to "see around corners" as Alice Schroeder described it. He didn't foresee the 9/11 attacks, but he knew that terrorism is an underappreciated risk in insurance and had been pushing his lieutenants to reduce their exposure to liability in marquee structures that might be targeted. When he purchased the railroad, there was speculation that one of the reasons that he bought it through one of the insurance subsidiaries is that it was partly to use the float (free money) but also because if it was in an insurance company, the state regulators might not let you sell it off because it would reduce the capital your insurance company had. So in essence, he was making it harder for his successor to split up BRK and sell off pieces. I may be misremembering, but I think BNSF was transferred out of the insurance sub by Warren. He may have been removing the handcuffs or maybe it was something else. He mentioned in the last meeting about regulators in the Utility space and Insurance litigation possibly causing future returns to lag compared to past returns. The recent PacificCorp payouts from wildfires may be a trend. Maybe he is making moves to make the insurance subs and utilities not be a target for litigators looking for a fat wallet, or politicians looking to upgrade the grid at the expense of utilities instead of taxpayers. It's one thing to say that you won't keep investing in energy if they don't provide adequate returns, but the assets you have are stranded and they have to be maintained. If you don't keep much cash in the register, it's less tempting to try to target them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorpioncapital Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 I doubt one can run from regulators on anything. Try to avoid paying your taxes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dymanojbabu Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 Google to Buy Clean Power From Buffett’s Nevada Utility https://finance.yahoo.com/news/google-buy-clean-power-buffett-135458426.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfp Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 (edited) Berkshire reported selling another ~12 million BYD shares in a recent HK filing https://di.hkex.com.hk/di/NSAllFormList.aspx?sa2=an&sid=2508&corpn=BYD+Co.+Ltd.++-+H+Shares&sd=17/06/2023&ed=17/06/2024&cid=2&sa1=cl&scsd=17%2f06%2f2023&sced=17%2f06%2f2024&sc=01211&src=MAIN&lang=EN&g_lang=en& (approximately $350 million USD worth) Edited June 17 by gfp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fareastwarriors Posted Monday at 05:20 PM Share Posted Monday at 05:20 PM Wildfire Threats Make Utilities Uninsurable in US West Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fareastwarriors Posted Tuesday at 08:56 PM Share Posted Tuesday at 08:56 PM (edited) Berkshire Hathaway accelerates sales of China's BYD Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has accelerated its selling of shares in BYD, China's largest seller of electric vehicles. Berkshire reduced its stake in BYD's issued H-shares to 5.99% on June 19, according to a Tuesday filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange. The stake had been 7.02% as recently as June 11. https://di.hkex.com.hk/di/NSAllFormList.aspx?sa2=an&sid=2508&corpn=BYD+Co.+Ltd.++-+H+Shares&sd=26/06/2023&ed=26/06/2024&cid=2&sa1=cl&scsd=26%2f06%2f2023&sced=26%2f06%2f2024&srchCorpName=byd&cn=1&src=MAIN&lang=EN&g_lang=en& Edited Tuesday at 08:58 PM by fareastwarriors Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamecock-YT Posted Wednesday at 06:07 AM Share Posted Wednesday at 06:07 AM 9 hours ago, fareastwarriors said: Berkshire Hathaway accelerates sales of China's BYD Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has accelerated its selling of shares in BYD, China's largest seller of electric vehicles. Berkshire reduced its stake in BYD's issued H-shares to 5.99% on June 19, according to a Tuesday filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange. The stake had been 7.02% as recently as June 11. https://di.hkex.com.hk/di/NSAllFormList.aspx?sa2=an&sid=2508&corpn=BYD+Co.+Ltd.++-+H+Shares&sd=26/06/2023&ed=26/06/2024&cid=2&sa1=cl&scsd=26%2f06%2f2023&sced=26%2f06%2f2024&srchCorpName=byd&cn=1&src=MAIN&lang=EN&g_lang=en& getting out before the fallout of the trade war starts showing up in the results Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwoodman Posted Wednesday at 09:32 AM Share Posted Wednesday at 09:32 AM 3 hours ago, Gamecock-YT said: getting out before the fallout of the trade war starts showing up in the results Yep, even if its a big world after all, valuation, optics, simplification for the next guy. Its probably one of the easier decisions he has to make in his nineties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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