Customers in 27 Counties Now Benefit from
Newly Installed Underground
Powerlines that Improve
Reliability and Eliminate Nearly All Wildfire Risk in a Given
Location
OAKLAND,
Calif., Nov. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Gas
and Electric Company (PG&E) announced today that it has
constructed and energized more than 800 miles of underground
powerlines since launching its wildfire safety undergrounding
effort in 2021.
This comes on the heels of PG&E completing more than 360
miles of undergrounding in 2023, representing the most
undergrounding completed in a single year by the company. Customers
in 27 counties are now being served by these buried lines,
permanently reducing 98% of wildfire risk in those locations and
also bringing significant reliability improvements.
"Undergrounding powerlines is a key layer of protection in our
strategy to reduce wildfire risk and improve reliability for our
customers," said Matt Pender,
PG&E's Vice President of Undergrounding and System Hardening.
"Reaching this milestone is a testament to our commitment to our
hometowns and our continued focus on delivering safe and reliable
electricity."
PG&E remains committed to undergrounding powerlines in
high-risk areas as part of its wildfire mitigation efforts because
moving powerlines underground is the most effective solution to
permanently reduce wildfire risk, improve reliability and reduce
operating costs over the long term.
Undergrounding Progress and Long-Term Plans
As of this week, PG&E has completed more than 187 miles of
work toward the company's target of undergrounding 250 miles in
2024. In recent weeks, customers in the Spring Valley area (Lake County), Vacaville (Solano
County) and the Pine Grove
area (Amador County) are among
those now being served by underground powerlines.
PG&E plans to complete an additional 330 miles of
undergrounding in 2025 and another 440 miles in 2026. This work
will be targeted in the highest wildfire-risk portions of the
company's service area and will bring PG&E to a total of more
than 1,600 total miles of undergrounding completed across 30
counties in Northern and Central
California by the end of 2026.
Updates on the company's undergrounding progress are shared
monthly on pge.com/undergrounding. Customers and stakeholders also
can view an interactive map highlighting where all PG&E
wildfire safety work, including completed and forecasted
undergrounding, is happening by visiting
pge.com/progressmap.
To determine the highest-risk lines for undergrounding, PG&E
uses machine-learning-based risk modeling. That includes advanced
fire-propagation technology, developed by a company named
Technosylva and also used by CAL
FIRE, the U.S. Forest Service
and other utilities.
For undergrounding workplans in 2027 and beyond, PG&E will
analyze additional projects in high fire-risk areas. Priority is
given to the highest-risk circuits. Details on long-term plans will
be shared in PG&E's 10-Year Electrical Undergrounding Plan to
be filed in 2025.
PG&E's layers of protection, including undergrounding, have
significantly reduced wildfire risk across its service area,
resulting in no catastrophic fires from company equipment in 2023
and a significant reduction in wildfire risk since
2018.
Additional layers of wildfire protection include:
- Strengthening the electric system with strong poles and
covered powerlines in and near high fire-risk areas.
- Deploying Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings (EPSS) to
decrease ignitions and provide wildfire protection to 44,000 line
miles and all 1.8 million customers living in high fire-risk areas.
In 2023, there was a 72% reduction in CPUC-reportable ignitions on
EPSS-enabled lines in High Fire-Threat Districts (compared to the
2018-2020 average).
- Continuing to reduce the impact of Public Safety Power
Shutoffs, which remains a top focus for the company.
- Managing trees and other vegetation located
near powerlines that could cause a power outage and/or
ignition.
- Leveraging a network of over 1,500 weather stations, or one
station every 18 line-miles, to better predict and respond to
severe weather threats.
- Using 600 high-definition cameras, which provide the ability to
see more than 90% of the high fire-risk areas.
- Investing in advanced tools and technologies like artificial
intelligence and drones that help automate fire detection and
response.
Note to Media: B-roll footage is available upon
request.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a
subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is a combined
natural gas and electric utility serving more than 16 million
people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California. For more information,
visit pge.com and pge.com/news.
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SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company