Improved reliability and near-elimination of wildfire risk now benefit customers in 27 counties thanks to newly installed underground power lines. 

OAKLAND, Calif., Nov. 15, 2024 — Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today announced the completion and activation of over 800 miles of underground power lines since initiating its wildfire safety undergrounding program in 2021.   

This follows PG&E’s completion of over 360 miles of undergrounding in 2023—the company’s highest annual total to date. These buried lines now serve customers in 27 counties, resulting in a 98% reduction in wildfire risk at those locations and substantially enhanced reliability.  

“Undergrounding powerlines is a critical component of our strategy to mitigate wildfire risk and improve customer reliability,” stated Matt Pender, PG&E’s Vice President of Undergrounding and System Hardening. “This milestone reflects our dedication to our communities and our ongoing commitment to safe, reliable electricity delivery.”  

PG&E remains committed to undergrounding powerlines in high-risk areas as a key part of its wildfire mitigation efforts; this approach is the most effective way to permanently reduce wildfire risk, improve reliability and lower long-term operating costs.

Undergrounding Progress and Future Plans 

As of this week, PG&E has completed over 187 miles of its 2024 goal of 250 miles. Recent underground power line installations now serve customers in Spring Valley (Lake County), Vacaville (Solano County), and the Pine Grove area (Amador County).

PG&E plans to complete an additional 330 miles of undergrounding in 2025 and another 440 miles in 2026. This work will focus on the highest wildfire-risk areas within the company’s service territory, bringing the total to over 1,600 miles of undergrounding completed across 30 counties in Northern and Central California by the end of 2026.

Monthly updates on the company’s undergrounding progress are available at . An interactive map showing completed and planned undergrounding, as well as other PG&E wildfire safety work, can be viewed at .   

PG&E employs machine-learning-based risk modeling, incorporating advanced fire-propagation technology (developed by Technosylva and also used by CAL FIRE, the U.S. Forest Service, and other utilities), to identify the highest-risk lines for undergrounding.  

Future undergrounding workplans (2027 and beyond) will be determined by analyzing additional projects in high fire-risk areas, prioritizing the highest-risk circuits. Details on long-term plans will be included in PG&E’s 10-Year Electrical Undergrounding Plan, to be submitted in 2025.   

PG&E’s layered approach to wildfire protection, including undergrounding, has substantially reduced wildfire risk across its service area, resulting in no catastrophic fires caused by company equipment in 2023 and a significant reduction in wildfire risk since 2018.  

Additional layers of wildfire protection include:

• Reinforcing the electric system with robust poles and covered powerlines in and near high fire-risk areas.
• Deploying Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings (EPSS) to reduce ignitions and provide wildfire protection to 44,000 line miles and all 1.8 million customers in high fire-risk areas. In 2023, CPUC-reportable ignitions on EPSS-enabled lines in High Fire-Threat Districts were reduced by 72% (compared to the 2018-2020 average).
• Continuously minimizing the impact of Public Safety Power Shutoffs, which remains a top company priority.
• Managing vegetation near powerlines to prevent outages and/or ignitions.
• Utilizing a network of over 1,500 weather stations (one every 18 line-miles) to improve severe weather prediction and response.
• Employing 600 high-definition cameras, providing visibility for over 90% of high fire-risk areas.
• Investing in advanced tools and technologies, including artificial intelligence and drones, for automated 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 (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  and .

SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company