PG&E to Underground Overhead Electric Equipment Along Kirker Pass and in Pittsburg

PITTSBURG, Calif.— Pacific Gasoline and Electrical Firm (PG&E) will probably be working alongside Contra Costa County’s Kirker Cross to underground almost 4.5 miles of overhead gear starting in mid-June. The system-hardening work will assist guarantee security and reliability in excessive fire-threat areas.

Along with Kirker Cross, work will happen on Nortonville Highway in Pittsburg. Prospects within the affected areas will obtain notification upfront of the work.

Drivers could discover gear and vehicles within the space. There will probably be lane closures and visitors management in place; drivers ought to permit for delays. Ought to there be a necessity for a deliberate outage related to this work, PG&E will attain out upfront to any affected prospects.

The work is scheduled for completion by the tip of the yr, climate allowing.

This undertaking is a part of PG&E’s multiyear infrastructure security program to underground roughly 10,000 miles of powerlines in and close to excessive fire-threat areas, first introduced in 2021. This plan represents the daring, revolutionary motion that’s required to satisfy our state’s local weather challenges and is the biggest effort within the U.S. to underground powerlines as a wildfire danger discount measure.

Undergrounding is a part of PG&E’s Group Wildfire Security Program, first launched in 2018 to assist maintain prospects and communities secure within the face of rising wildfire danger throughout the state.

Undergrounding is simply one of many system-hardening instruments PG&E makes use of to scale back wildfire dangers.

Relying on the wants of the group, PG&E opinions extra risk-reduction efforts together with putting in stronger poles, lined powerlines and sectionalizing gadgets; conducting enhanced vegetation administration; adjusting powerline security settings; and implementing Public Security Energy Shutoffs.

PG&E Publicizes Powerline Undergrounding Tasks in Bay Space Communities at Excessive Danger of Wildfires

Work Is Deliberate or Below Approach on Roughly 43 Miles of Electrical Distribution Traces in Seven Bay Space Counties as A part of 10,000-mile Program

OAKLAND – As a part of our dedication to scale back wildfire danger and create a safer and extra resilient grid, PG&E plans to underground not less than 175 miles of electrical distribution powerlines in 2022 and 400 extra such miles in 2023 in 21 counties throughout its service space.

The miles signify the primary main tranche of initiatives in PG&E’s program to underground 10,000 miles of electrical distribution powerlines, together with a goal of about 3,600 miles from 2022 to 2026.

Of the 2022-23 miles at the moment designed, submitted for allowing or below building, the Bay Space is house to roughly 43 miles of strains to be undergrounded throughout Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Solano and Sonoma counties.

Miles designed, in allowing or below building within the Bay Space embody:

• 1.5 miles in Alameda County
• 8.5 miles in Contra Costa County
• 2.9 miles in Marin County
• 6.1 miles in Napa County
• 9.6 miles in San Mateo County
• 7.5 miles in Solano County
• 7.1 miles in Sonoma County

Undergrounding in native communities can reduce the chance of ignitions alongside undergrounded circuits by 99 p.c; scale back annual spending on non permanent repairs and different recurring prices equivalent to vegetation administration; and curb the necessity for wildfire safety-related outages.

“Focused undergrounding in Excessive Hearth-Menace Districts will make our system safer and extra resilient to higher serve prospects and reply to the state’s evolving local weather challenges,” stated PG&E Vice President of Undergrounding Jamie Martin. “All of our prospects will profit from enhancements to air and water high quality with fewer ignitions, in addition to decrease general upkeep and working prices over time.”

PG&E is emphasizing undergrounding in areas the place it may have the best impact on decreasing wildfire danger and Public Security Energy Shutoffs for our prospects.

We’re additionally specializing in crucial services, equivalent to hospitals, and elements together with terrain, accessibility, constructability, vegetation, current infrastructure (such because the variety of providers and transformers) and local weather challenges.

When attainable, we prioritize efforts to deal with a number of wants, and can proceed to ship the best stage of security for our prospects.

PG&E forecasts a median value of $3.75 million per mile to underground distribution strains in 2022 and is appearing to scale back that value over the approaching years, to $2.5 million per mile in 2026.

Our plan to underground 10,000 miles of distribution powerlines in and close to areas at excessive wildfire danger represents the daring, revolutionary motion that’s required to satisfy California’s local weather challenges. It’s additionally the biggest effort in the US to underground powerlines as a wildfire risk-reduction measure.

Undergrounding and PG&E’s Group Wildfire Security Program

Undergrounding is a part of PG&E’s Group Wildfire Security Program, which we launched in 2018 to assist maintain prospects and communities secure within the face of rising wildfire danger throughout our state. California, Oregon and Washington, amongst different Western states, proceed to expertise elevated wildfire danger and longer wildfire seasons. Practically one-third of the electrical powerlines that serve our prospects at the moment are in Excessive Hearth-Menace Districts designated by the California Public Utilities Fee.

As we proceed to answer extreme climate threats, our wildfire security program is evolving to replicate classes discovered and incorporate new data. That’s the reason our program contains short-, medium- and long-term plans to make our system safer.

Undergrounding is simply one of many system-hardening instruments we use to scale back wildfire dangers.

Relying on the wants of the group, we assessment extra risk-reduction efforts together with putting in stronger poles, lined powerlines and sectionalizing gadgets; conducting enhanced vegetation administration; adjusting powerline security settings; and implementing Public Security Energy Shutoffs.

Throughout our system, we’ve got deployed extra layers of safety for our prospects, together with putting in greater than 1,300 climate stations and 500 high-definition cameras, with extra installations underway in 2022.

These and extra risk-reduction efforts are outlined in our 2022 Wildfire Mitigation Plan.

About PG&E

Pacific Gasoline and Electrical Firm, a subsidiary of PG&E Company (NYSE:PCG), is a mixed pure fuel and electrical utility serving greater than 16 million folks throughout 70,000 sq. miles in Northern and Central California. For extra data, go to pge.com and pge.com/information.