A vote in San Francisco Thursday could have a major impact on the future of the power grid, and supporters say it may provide a boost to wildfire safety.
PG&E recently energized 1,000 miles of power lines that the utility buried underground in areas prone to wildfires, and it wants to bury much more.
Back in 2023, lawmakers in Sacramento passed SB 884, which requires a program be established to expedite that process of burying power lines. On Thursday in San Francisco, the California Public Utilities Commission, the regulatory body that overseas PG&E, will vote on guidelines for that process.
In a news release, PG&E appears to be critical of the CPUC, writing, “Current drafts of these guidelines present significant challenges to long-term planning efforts, and if adopted, could jeopardize PG&E’s ability to put forward a multi-year plan.”
To date, more than 30 local governments, chambers of commerce and large energy companies have written to the CPUC, asking that the guidelines be revised to support more undergrounding in California.
PG&E is requesting an incremental rate hike over four years to help pay for the burial of its lines.
By 2030, rate payers using about 500 kilowatt hours per month would see their bills be about $408 more than today.
Critics of the undergrounding of power lines say it would be cheaper to just insulate those lines.
Source: NBC Bay Area