More questions, more answers at PG&E virtual town hall

The utility giant says it's rolling out the latest advancements and additional resources to keep North Coast communities safe from fires.

photo credit: courtesy of Pacific Gas & Electric
An illustration of PG&E's Enhanced Powerline Safety Setting system.

What's Pacific Gas and Electric up to now?

PG&E officials addressed the latest wildfire safety and grid related issues for the North Coast in a virtual town hall Monday.

PG&E's North Coast region VP Dave Canney said the utility is under-grounding some power lines here in Sonoma County, but the numbers are far from impressive.

"Our Highway 12 Under-grounding project is in two parts," Canney said. "Part one of this project started in 2023, to underground about a third of a mile of power lines."

"[The] project is expected to be completed next month," Canney said. "Part two of this project started in March and is currently in progress to under-ground just over a mile of power lines."

The limited line burying so far has been along the Highway 12 corridor between Santa Rosa and Kenwood.

PG&E has marked just six miles of power lines for under-grounding in Sonoma County between 2024 and 2026.

Canney said the utility giant is also addressing rising energy prices.

"To address these growing concerns, we are committed to stabilizing customer bills," Canney said. "We are taking actions to limit average annual increases to no more than three percent through 2026 without sacrificing safety."

Canney said PG&E is cutting its operating costs and spreading out expenses for vegetation management over longer time periods, ostensibly to help lower costs to customers at the meter.

He said residential customers will see rates fall between nine and seven percent during the hot season.

On the wildfire safety front, PG&E's Austin Sharp said what the company calls "enhanced power line safety settings" or EPSS, are making an impact.

"One of the key benefits of these settings is the ability to automatically turn off power within one-tenth of a second when a wildfire hazard, such as a tree or branch is detected on a power line," Sharp said. "Last year there was a 72% reduction in ignitions on power lines with these settings."

Sharp said PG&E is also looking to address grid reliability, and reduce the number and length of safety shutoffs.