So PG&E is picking up the pace of burying its dangerous power lines that could ignite dangerous wildfires near residential developments.
It’s about time.
This is a utility that since 2017 has been been responsible for 31 wildfires, burning 23,956 structures and nearly 1.5 million acres — and killing more than 100 Californians.
And yet the utility reports that only about 175 miles of distribution lines will be buried this year.
The good news is that PG&E, which is California’s largest electricity provider, estimates that it will complete another 3,600 miles from 2022 to 2026.
But consider PG&E’s approach compared to San Diego Gas & Electric’s response to the threat of wildfires. In the last decade, San Diego Gas & Electric has buried more than 10,000 miles of power lines — more than 60% of its entire system.
That’s right. Four years from now PG&E will only have about one-third as many buried power lines as San Diego Gas & Electric has now.
At $3.75 million a mile, the cost of burying power lines isn’t cheap. PG&E has estimated that it will cost roughly $10.5 billion to bury the 3,600 miles of power lines in high-risk areas.
But it’s still a bargain when you consider that the 2018 Camp Fire by itself killed 85 people and caused an estimated $16.5 billion dollars in damages.