PG&E Files 10-Year Plan to Underground 5,000 Miles of Power Lines in California

PG&E filed a 10-year Electrical Undergrounding Plan with the California Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, to improve grid safety and reliability in high-wildfire-risk areas across northern and central California.

Separately, PG&E Corp. said in early September that it plans to defer about $2 billion of investments next year as part of a strategic review of its businesses, a move that comes after it said a proposed revamp of California’s wildfire response didn’t do enough to protect the company and its peers from the cost of such disasters.

Related: Southern California Utilities Prep Shutoffs as Fire Risk Surges

• The plan would place about 5,000 miles of electricity distribution lines underground from 2028 to 2037 — focusing on areas where undergrounding will likely reduce wildfire risks the most, the utility said
• Work would span more than 30 counties
• PG&E expects $117 billion in long-term benefits through wildfire prevention and reduced outages, avoiding roughly $6 billion in vegetation management, operations and maintenance costs
• In September, PG&E said it would defer about $2 billion in spending for next year and launched a strategic review
• Earlier, an amended state Senate bill raised concerns around wildfire liability costs
• California’s utilities have faced growing wildfire-related liabilities
• PG&E, the parent of Pacific Gas and Electric Co, emerged from bankruptcy in 2020 after its equipment was linked to several deadly fires

(Reporting by Katha Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)