Pacific Gas & Electric, one of the largest U.S. utilities whose equipment has sparked some of California’s deadliest wildfires, wants to bury power lines in some of the most dangerous areas to prevent destructive fires, such as Fire in Heaven 2018 Resulting in 85 deaths.
But state regulators balked at the utility’s plan because it would take too long and cost $5.9 billion. The company’s customers – whose rates are already among the highest in the country – will have to pay for it.
Regulators want PG&E to install protective covers on many of its overhead power lines rather than burying them. Covering methods are cheaper, but riskier. PG&E says burying a power line reduces the chance of starting a wildfire by 99 percent because it cannot be blown down by storms. If a power cord falls to the ground, the protective cover better insulates it, reducing the possibility by 62%.
“We’re not going to take a 35% risk,” PG&E Chief Executive Patti Poppe said, rounding her assessment. “Who wants to fly on a plane that has a 35 percent chance of crashing?”
PG&E Application 2019 bankruptcy protection The company is trying to convince regulators that its burial plan is better after facing more than $30 billion in losses from wildfires caused by its equipment. The company submitted plans to state regulators last year.
The California Public Utilities Commission, whose members are appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, is scheduled to make a decision on the issue next month. PG&E will present the matter in person to the committee on Wednesday.
The scale and speed of what PG&E wants to do is unprecedented. The company plans to bury 2,000 miles (3,219 kilometers) of wires as part of a broader goal to put 10,000 miles (16,093 kilometers) underground over the next decade. The case is being closely watched not only in California but nationwide as more utilities weigh the risks and costs of burying power lines.
Most of the country’s power lines are above ground because it’s cheaper to do so. But more and more utilities have been burying power lines in preparation for larger and more devastating natural disasters. In Florida, where hurricanes are a greater threat than wildfires, about 45% of the company’s distribution system is underground, according to the company’s website.
Other large investor-owned utilities in California have also buried power lines underground. Southern California Edison, which covers much of central and southern California, said it plans to bury 600 miles (966 kilometers) of power lines by 2028. San Diego Gas & Electric has buried 145 miles (233 kilometers) of power lines since 2020 and plans to run another 1,500 miles (2,414 kilometers) by 2031.
The problem could have ramifications beyond electricity prices.Last year, seven of the 12 largest insurance companies doing business in California either Suspend or limit New business in the state cited wildfire risk.
On a recent afternoon, Poppe — PG&E Chief Executive Officer from 2021 — visited a construction site between Sacramento and San Francisco where crews were burying a section of overhead power lines. Poppe was on hand to celebrate the company’s goal of burying at least 350 miles (563 kilometers) of power lines this year, a milestone she said proved the company could achieve its ambitious goals.
Wearing a hard hat and protective glasses, Pope watched workers pour a concrete mix into a newly dug trench on a rural two-lane road. Behind them, charred trees stood guard on the brown hills, evidence of history. 2020 LNU Complex Fire Nearly 1,500 buildings were destroyed and six people died. The fire was started by lightning, not PG&E’s power lines, but it’s a reminder of the lasting damage wildfires can cause.
“One of the biggest criticisms of PG&E is that we haven’t adapted to changing conditions. Everyone says we should have seen what’s happening with these wildfires. Everyone says PG&E should invest in infrastructure,” Pope told The Associated Press. “So, here we are. We have changed now and we are asking people to catch up with us.”
Critics scoffed, noting that PG&E’s plan would boost a company’s profits plead guilty There were 84 manslaughter charges stemming from the 2018 wildfires that largely destroyed the town of Paradise. Their plan, which includes items other than burying power lines, would increase customer rates by an average of nearly 18 percent, or $38.73 per month.
“I really have a hard time believing anything they say about their safety commitments. They’re going to make a lot of money building these pipelines,” said Ken Cook, chairman of the Environmental Working Group and a PG&E customer.
The Public Utilities Commission is considering two other plans that include burying power lines and using protective coverings. The plan would reduce the number of power lines PG&E can bury by at least half. One plan would raise rates by just over 12%, and the other would raise rates by about 10%.
Since 2006, PG&E’s residential rates have more than doubled. Low-income customers fared even worse, with their rates rising 170% during the same period, according to the Utility Reform Network, a ratepayer advocacy group. PG&E said its all-electric electricity rates have risen an average of 4% annually since 2006.
While burying power lines is the most effective way to prevent wildfires, it’s not a quick fix. It takes a long time compared to other methods as it takes time to plan and obtain the necessary permits and licenses to excavate.
According to the California Office of Public Advocacy, the state agency that represents customers before utilities, only 5% of PG&E and Southern California Edison’s high-threat fire areas were protected by underground lines or shields in early 2018. committee.
Five years later, 55 percent of Southern California Edison’s equipment in high-threat fire zones was protected, compared with only 9 percent of PG&E’s systems. Matt Baker, director of the California Office of Public Initiatives, said burying some power lines is a good thing for PG&E, but they also have to use other methods to protect more areas faster.
“We have to do it as quickly as possible to reduce the risk as much as possible,” Baker said. “If we have this incredible gilded, awesome underground system, then over the next ten years if we have a hundred or so wildfires start to hit other places because we’re not still there.”
PG&E said it had improved protection on 14% of its systems in areas with high wildfire risk by the end of 2022. Additionally, the company said it has more than two-and-a-half times as many distribution line miles in high-risk areas as in the southern region. California Edison.
PG&E CEO Poppe said the company has a “moral obligation” to reduce the risk of wildfires. Poppe said she still wears the ladybug pin on her shirt every day as a reminder of Feyla McLeod, an 8-year-old girl who died in a 2020 wildfire in Northern California caused by PG&E equipment.
“Every day I recommit myself to preventing this from happening again,” she said.
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