PG&E Submits 2019 Wildfire Safety Plan; With Additional Safety Precautions and Significantly Expanded Public Safety Power Shutoff Program - Seite 2

The program will now include 25,200 distribution circuit miles, up from 7,100 last year, and about 5,500 circuit miles of transmission lines including 500 kV, up from 373 circuit miles of transmission lines at 70 kV and below, across elevated and extreme-fire risk areas, designated by the CPUC High Fire Threat District map adopted in January 2018.

PG&E’s 2019 Wildfire Safety Plan describes forecasted work and investments in 2019 to help further reduce the potential for wildfire ignitions associated with its electrical equipment in high fire-threat areas. It also reflects the unique size and geography of PG&E’s 70,000-square-mile service area of which more than half is located in extreme or elevated fire-threat areas.

“Our state is faced with an extended and more dangerous wildfire season that demands urgent action and coordination. While California’s energy companies have a critical responsibility and role to play in reducing wildfire risk, we must all work together to keep our communities safe,” said Sumeet Singh, vice president of the Community Wildfire Safety Program. “The wildfire safety actions and programs described in our 2019 plan address the company’s unique and diverse service area and provide our regulators, customers and communities with transparency of our unwavering efforts to help further reduce the risk of wildfire and improve public safety.”

California faces an increasing threat from catastrophic wildfires, extreme weather and higher temperatures, and recent state and federal climate assessments warn the threat is only growing. Multiple factors contribute to wildfire risk across PG&E’s service area. These include vast tree mortality following a historic five-year drought. Fire season is now extended due to prolonged periods of high temperatures, extreme dryness, tinder-dry grass and record-high winds increasing the number of wildfires and making them more dangerous.

The 2019 plan addresses an array of wildfire risk factors through new and ongoing measures. Among the safety steps and actions include:

• Installing nearly 600 new, high-definition cameras, made available to CAL FIRE and local fire officials, in high fire-threat areas by 2022, increasing coverage across high fire-risk areas to more than 90 percent;
• Adding approximately 1,300 additional new weather stations by 2022, at a density of one station roughly every 20 circuit miles in high fire-risk areas;
• Conducting enhanced safety inspections of electric infrastructure in high-fire threat areas, including approximately 725,000 electric towers and poles across more than 5,500 transmission line miles and 25,200 distribution line miles;
• Further enhancing vegetation management efforts across high-fire risk areas (25,000 miles of lines) to address vegetation that poses higher potential for wildfire risk, including clearing overhanging branches directly above and around power lines;
• Continuing to disable automatic reclosing in high fire-threat areas during wildfire season and periods of high fire-risk and upgrading more reclosers and circuit breakers in high fire-threat areas with remote control capabilities;
• Installing stronger and more resilient poles and covered power lines, including targeted undergrounding, starting in areas with the highest fire risk, ultimately upgrading and strengthening approximately 7,100 miles over the next 10 years; and
• Partnering with additional communities in high fire-threat areas to create new resilience zones that can power central community resources during a Public Safety Power Shutoff.

The safety plan builds on PG&E’s comprehensive Community Wildfire Safety Program, launched in March 2018. PG&E has completed or is implementing these important safety enhancements and investments to help keep our customers and communities safe. Some of the actions taken include: