PG&E proposes 5,000 miles of risk-prioritized undergrounding over 10 years

PG&E has filed a proposed decade-long undergrounding program covering approximately 5,000 miles of distribution lines from 2028 through 2037. The proposal establishes a risk-based framework for selecting undergrounding projects and comparing them with overhead system improvements.

For utility planners and local agencies, the proposed roadmap is intended to improve coordination of construction, suppliers and wildfire mitigation investments. Reliability benefits could extend to hospitals and emergency services, but delivery and costs remain subject to regulatory review.

PG&E has submitted a 10-Year Electrical Undergrounding Plan to the California Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, proposing work across more than 30 counties. The plan uses data analytics and risk modeling to prioritize locations based on wildfire likelihood and consequences, reliability, customer impacts, and project costs and benefits. Undergrounding would be weighed against alternatives such as strengthened poles and covered powerlines. PG&E says undergrounding can reduce ignition risk by nearly 98% and deliver approximately 90% fewer outages in the targeted areas; these are company claims, not independently verified outcomes in the article. It also estimates $6 billion in avoided vegetation management, operations and maintenance costs over the assets’ lives. Energy Safety will assess the proposal’s reliability and wildfire-risk benefits. If approved, PG&E would then seek conditional cost approval from the California Public Utilities Commission.

Evidence supplied by TD World.