VACAVILLE, Calif. (AP) — Pacific Gas & Electric — one of the nation’s largest utilities whose equipment has sparked some of California’s deadliest wildfires — wants to bury power lines in some of its most at-risk areas to prevent destructive blazes like the 2018 Paradise fire that killed 85 people.
But state regulators are balking at the utility’s plan because it would take too long and cost $5.9 billion. The company’s customers — who already have some of the highest rates in the country — would have to pay for it.
Regulators want PG&E to put a protective cover over many of its overhead power lines instead of burying them. The cover approach is cheaper, but riskier. PG&E says burying a power line reduces the chance it will start a wildfire by 99% because it can’t be blown down by wind storms. The protective cover, which would better insulate the power line should it fall to the ground, would reduce that chance by 62%.
“We’re not going to live with 35% risk,” said PG&E CEO Patti Poppe, who was rounding down in her assessment. “Who wants to get on a plane that has a 35% chance of crashing?”
PG&E, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2019 after it faced more than $30 billion in damages for wildfires started by its equipment, is trying to convince regulators that its burying plan is better. The company filed its plan with state regulators last year.
The California Public Utilities Commission, whose members are appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, is scheduled to decide the issue next month. PG&E will make it’s case in person before the commission on Wednesday.
What PG&E wants to do is unprecedented in both scale and speed. It’s plan to bury 2,000 miles of power lines is part of a broader goal of putting 10,000 miles underground over the next decade. The case is being closely watched, not just in California but throughout the country as more utilities weigh the risks versus the cost of burying power lines.
Most of the nation’s power lines are above ground because it’s cheaper to do it that way. But more utilities have been burying power lines in response to bigger and more destructive natural disasters.
The issue can have repercussions beyond the price of electricity. In the past year, seven of the top 12 insurance companies doing business in California have either paused or restricted new business in the state, citing wildfire risk.
On a recent afternoon, Poppe — PG&E’s CEO since 2021 — visited a construction site between Sacramento and San Francisco where crews were burying a stretch of overhead power lines. Poppe was there to celebrate the company meeting its goal of burying at least 350 miles of power lines this year, a milestone she says is proof the company can meet its ambitious targets.
“One of the big criticisms about PG&E is we did not adapt to changing conditions. Everyone says we should have seen these wildfire conditions. Everyone says PG&E should have invested in the infrastructure,” Poppe told The Associated Press. “And so, here we are. We’ve now changed and we’re asking people to catch up with us.”
Critics scoff, noting that PG&E’s plan would boost profits for a company that pleaded guilty to 84 counts of manslaughter in connection with the 2018 wildfire that mostly destroyed the town of Paradise. Their plan, which includes projects in addition to burying power lines, would raise customer rates an average of nearly 18%, or $38.73 per month.
“I really find it hard to believe anything they say about their commitment to safety. They are going to make a lot of money burying these lines,” said Ken Cook, president of Environmental Working Group and a PG&E customer.
The Public Utilities Commission is considering two other plans that would include both burying power lines and using protective coverings. The plans reduce the number of power lines that PG&E could bury by at least half. One plan would raise rates by just over 12% and the other would raise rates by about 10%.
Already, PG&E’s residential rates have more than doubled since 2006. It’s been even worse for low-income customers, whose rates have gone up 170% over that same time period, according to The Utility Reform Network, an advocacy group for ratepayers. PG&E says its electric-only rates have increased an average of 4% per year since 2006.
