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.

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)