Just days after Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced it had energized 1,000 miles of undergrounded powerlines, a new poll indicates that most Californians support burying power lines as a wildfire prevention measure. The survey, conducted by David Binder Research, found that nearly 90% of respondents favor their energy company burying power lines to reduce wildfire risk.
More than 70% of those surveyed said they believe energy companies should increase investment in undergrounding compared to other mitigation strategies such as installing covered conductor or implementing proactive outages.
“PG&E prides itself on using multiple layers of protection to keep our communities safe from wildfires, but this data demonstrates that our customers, and customers of all California energy companies, recognize the unique reliability and safety benefits that undergrounding brings to the table,” said Peter Kenny, PG&E’s Senior Vice President of Electric Operations. “Undergrounding eliminates nearly all of the wildfire risk on lines that have been buried, and when done at scale, protects hundreds, if not thousands, of critical facilities like schools, hospitals and fire stations from weather-related outages.”
The timing of this public support is significant as California energy companies are developing long-term plans for undergrounding. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is currently considering guidelines that will shape these efforts under Senate Bill 884 passed in 2023. Current drafts of the guidelines could make long-term planning more difficult for PG&E and may affect its ability to submit a multi-year plan.
Over 30 local governments, chambers of commerce, and large energy companies have written to the CPUC requesting revisions to support more undergrounding across the state. The CPUC is scheduled to vote on these guidelines during its November 20 meeting.
PG&E serves over 16 million people across Northern and Central California with both natural gas and electric utility services. More information about PG&E’s wildfire safety programs can be found at pge.com/wildfiresafetyprogess.
For additional details see the original release at https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/californians-express-overwhelming-support-for-undergrounding-powerlines-to-reduce-wildfire-risk-302620849.html
