PG&E will move over 1,000 miles of powerlines underground to lower wildfire risk

OAKLAND, Calif. - Utility giant Pacific Gas and Electric Company has announced a new plan to reduce the risk of its infrastructure sparking more wildfires.

The 2026-2028 Wildfire Mitigation Plan will see the company bury over 1,000 miles of powerlines in high-risk areas, upgrade systems across the state and expand its use of monitoring technology, including using artificial intelligence. The document is still pending approval from the California Public Utilities Commission, which oversees utility companies in the state.

A spokesperson for PG&E said there is no price tag attached to the plan as yet.

"Costs associated with the essential work called out in (the plan) will go through an open, transparent process with regulators via various rate-making filings," the spokesperson said. 

The plan builds on progress the company has been making to harden its infrastructure over the last few years, including locally. PG&E teams were at work burying power lines in Angwin, in Napa County, earlier this year.

Reducing risk

What they're saying:

"Our system is safer today than it was yesterday, and it will be even safer tomorrow. The combination of tools, technology and the expertise of our coworkers is working to mitigate risk, reduce ignitions and prevent catastrophic wildfires," said Sumeet Singh, PG&E's chief operating officer, said in a statement. "We want — and we know our customers deserve — a future where both safe and reliable service is a reality. We are working every day to make that possible."

PG&E's new Wildfire Mitigation Plan calls for:

• Undergrounding 1,077 miles of powerlines in high-fire-risk areas.
• Upgrading overhead systems across over 700 miles, including stronger poles, covered lines, and wider crossarms.
• Gridscope sensors — pole-mounted devices that detect unusual sounds, vibrations or lights that could signal equipment issues, installed over 900 circuit miles.
• Early fault detection — radio-frequency sensors that act as a "check engine light" for the grid, spotting potential issues early.
• Aerial span inspections — expanded use of drones and helicopters to inspect hard-to-reach equipment between poles.
• Additional sectionalizing devices and animal/avian protection equipment to minimize outages from enhanced powerline safety settings.

Recent history

The other side:

PG&E has been heavily scrutinized in recent years for sparking several large wildfires, including some of the most destructive blazes in California's history.

The most notable incidents include the 2018 Camp Fire in Butte County — the deadliest fire in California's history, which burned 153,336 acres — as well as the 2021 Dixie Fire in the northern Sierra Nevada, which destroyed 963,309 acres. Both cases led to criminal prosecutions against the company.

PG&E pleaded guilty to 84 counts of manslaughter in connection with the Camp Fire, and agreed to pay more than $55 million to avoid criminal prosecution for the Dixie Fire and the 2019 Kincade Fire.

A grand jury report released following the Camp Fire stated that PG&E officials had repeatedly ignored warnings about its failing power lines and performed inadequate inspections, choosing instead to focus on profit, in a refusal to learn from past catastrophes.

The company was also convicted of multiple felonies in 2016, after one of its gas transmission lines in San Bruno exploded and killed eight people.

PG&E filed for bankruptcy shortly after being found liable for those disasters, and emerged from that status in 2020.

Footing the bill

By the numbers:

PG&E is one of California's three utility companies, which are regulated monopolies. 

The businesses recover the money spent on wildfire-related costs through their customers' bills. 

Their combined efforts to prevent wildfires have raised customer rates to the highest in the country, outside of Hawaii, and are expected to outpace inflation through 2027.

The utilities' plans to underground power lines have also been scrutinized as costly and ineffective — since 2021 PG&E has buried more than 895 miles of power lines, and intends to bury an additional 330 miles in 2025. 

California Edison recently made headlines with the announcement of a more than $650 million plan to bury 150 miles of power lines in Altadena and Malibu, following the  Eaton Fire, which swept through the region earlier this year.

Data provided by the company shows it can cost between $3.4 million and $6.1 million to bury one mile of cable.