PG&E moves 137 miles of power lines underground in Placer, El Dorado counties

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has now constructed and energized 1,000 miles of power lines underground in high fire-risk areas. PG&E has identified its undergrounding effort as the largest ever by a utility to reduce wildfire risk. In the locations where those lines provide electricity to customers, undergrounding eliminates nearly all wildfire risk. In total, PG&E's system-hardening efforts, which includes undergrounding, stronger overhead poles and wires and line removals, have permanently removed 8.4 percent of wildfire ignition risk from the entire system since 2023. How far is 1,000 miles? It's 932 miles from the Oregon-California border to the California-Mexico border. "Putting 1,000 miles of power lines underground is a significant milestone for our customers as we work to reduce wildfire risk every day," said Peter Kenny, PG&E's senior vice president of Electric Operations. "When our CEO, Patti Poppe, announced in 2021 that we would put thousands of miles of power lines underground, skeptics said it couldn't be done. Well, not only are we at 1,000 miles and counting, but we also have substantially reduced the cost for our customers as we've scaled up our work." Underground power lines are now serving customers in high fire-risk areas of 27 counties in Northern and Central California, with 26 miles undergrounded in Amador County, 29 miles in Calaveras, 85 miles El Dorado, 52 miles in Placer and 70 miles in Solano. By the end of 2026, PG&E anticipates 1,600 total miles of power lines will be underground, contributing to a total risk reduction of 18 percent across the system. Since the start of the program, the cost per mile of undergrounding has decreased from $4 million to $3.1 million in 2025. Further reductions are expected in coming years. Undergrounding cost savings have been achieved through multiple innovations and ideas: * Reducing cost and travel time and supporting local economies by hiring hometown contractors. * Working more efficiently with state-of-the-art construction equipment, including chain trenchers, rock-wheel saws and slinger trucks. * Avoiding the year-after-year tree trimming required by overhead line maintenance. * Saving time, money and additional dirt removal by reducing the standard depth and width of trenches. * Cutting disposal costs by using excess soil from undergrounding projects for other operational projects. With increasing fire risk across the western United States, PG&E is taking immediate and long-term actions to keep communities safe while also focusing on reduced costs and increased reliability. PG&E uses multiple layers of protection that work together to prevent wildfires. Over the past seven years, PG&E has: * Developed a statewide network of nearly 1,600 weather stations and more than 650 HD cameras to respond to wildfire risk in real time. * Inspected, trimmed or removed more than 960,000 trees and other types of vegetation across the service area. * Completed more than 1,000 miles of undergrounding. * Installed more than 1,400 miles of strengthened power poles and covered power lines. Matt Pender, PG&E's vice president of Undergrounding and System Hardening, praised his team for its focus on protecting customers. "It feels amazing to be making a difference that will last for many, many years, for decades, by putting these lines underground and reducing wildfire risk for the long run," he said.