Three-Year Wildfire Mitigation Plan Builds Upon Proven Layers of Protection, Includes Nearly 1,100 Miles of Undergrounding and Further Integration of New Technologies
Rhea-AI Summary
PG&E has submitted its 2026-2028 Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP) to California's Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, building on successful prevention of major wildfires in 2023 and 2024. The plan includes:
- Undergrounding nearly 1,100 miles of powerlines
- Strengthening 570 miles of overhead powerlines and poles
- Expanding technology implementation including:
• 10,000+ Gridscope devices across 900 circuit miles
• Early Fault Detection sensors
• Aerial span inspections of 220,000 poles
The plan features multiple protection layers including Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings (EPSS), which achieved a 72% reduction in reportable ignitions in 2024, and Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS). In 2024, six PSPS events affected 50,000 customers across 23 counties, while EPSS protects 1.8 million customers in high-risk areas.
Positive
- No major wildfires from company equipment in 2023 and 2024
- 72% reduction in reportable ignitions through Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings
- 17% decrease in average duration of EPSS-enabled circuit outages
- Comprehensive technological upgrades with 10,000+ Gridscope devices across 900 circuit miles
- Substantial infrastructure improvement plan with 1,077 miles of undergrounding and 570 miles of overhead upgrades
Negative
- Six PSPS events affecting 50,000 customers in 2024, up from three events affecting 5,000 customers in 2023
- Continued customer outages from EPSS-enabled circuits
- Only 3.5% of high-risk areas currently covered by Gridscope devices
Insights
PG&E's 2026-2028 Wildfire Mitigation Plan represents a significant de-risking event for the utility. After years of catastrophic wildfire liabilities, the company's layered protection strategy has proven effective with no major wildfires from their equipment in 2023-2024.
The plan's ambitious scope includes undergrounding nearly 1,100 miles of powerlines and strengthening 570 miles of overhead infrastructure in high-risk areas. These permanent solutions provide superior protection compared to operational mitigations alone. The capital-intensive nature of these investments aligns with the regulated utility business model, where safety improvements typically receive regulatory support for cost recovery.
Particularly impressive is PG&E's integration of advanced technologies. The Gridscope sensors already deployed across 900 circuit miles have demonstrated real-world success in preventing ignitions. Early Fault Detection sensors function as an early warning system for equipment issues, potentially reducing maintenance costs and unplanned outages long-term.
The 72% reduction in reportable ignitions when Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings are enabled shows the effectiveness of the company's operational protocols. Meanwhile, the 17% decrease in outage duration on EPSS-enabled circuits demonstrates PG&E's commitment to balancing safety with reliability.
This comprehensive approach to wildfire mitigation substantially reduces one of PG&E's most significant enterprise risks. By preventing catastrophic wildfires, the company avoids potential legal liabilities while strengthening regulatory relationships through demonstrated safety improvement.
PG&E's wildfire mitigation strategy demonstrates sophisticated enterprise risk management through multiple layers of protection. Most notably, the strategy has delivered tangible results – zero major wildfires from company equipment over two consecutive years in an increasingly challenging climate environment.
The company's approach balances immediate operational safeguards with long-term infrastructure hardening. Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings provide immediate risk reduction (with 72% fewer reportable ignitions), while the planned undergrounding of 1,077 miles of powerlines represents a permanent solution to vegetation-related ignition risks.
What's particularly effective is PG&E's data-driven approach. Their deployment of 10,000+ Gridscope sensors across high-risk areas creates an early warning system for potential failures. The documented example of these sensors detecting vegetation smoldering on an energized line during extreme heat demonstrates real operational value beyond theoretical risk reduction.
The refinement of Public Safety Power Shutoffs shows maturation in risk management practices. These events are now more targeted and shorter in duration, reflecting better risk assessment capabilities through advanced weather modeling and situational awareness technologies.
While the article doesn't quantify the investment required, the comprehensive approach demonstrates appropriate allocation of resources proportional to the existential risk wildfires have posed to PG&E. For a utility previously driven to bankruptcy by wildfire liabilities, this systematic risk reduction strategy represents prudent governance and protection of shareholder value through threat mitigation rather than crisis response.
PG&E Builds Upon Risk-Informed Safety Actions That Prevented Major Wildfires in 2023 and 2024
PG&E's 2026-2028 Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP), submitted to
PG&E's WMP outlines critical layers of protection that work together to reduce wildfire ignition risk and strengthen PG&E's electric grid in Northern and
When wildfire risk is elevated, these efforts are bolstered with highly-effective operational mitigations such as Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings (EPSS), and Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) that protect customers.
"Our system is safer today than it was yesterday, and it will be even safer tomorrow. Our Wildfire Mitigation Plan employs multiple layers of protection we're using to stop catastrophic wildfires in our hometowns. The combination of tools, technology and the expertise of our coworkers is working to mitigate risk, reduce ignitions and prevent catastrophic wildfires," said PG&E Executive Vice President, Operations and Chief Operating Officer Sumeet Singh.
"Our focus on improving customer experience related to our wildfire mitigation efforts is unwavering," Singh said. "We want -- and we know our customers deserve -- a future where both, safe and reliable service, is a reality. We are working every day to make that possible."
Technology for Today and Tomorrow
Even as capabilities such as wildfire cameras, weather stations and our 24/7/365 Hazard Awareness & Warning Center (HAWC) mature and become more beneficial, PG&E continues to seek out innovative technologies in the wildfire space. For example, the utility is in the early stages of building real-time monitoring to obtain more dynamic insights into the state of electric assets in light of weather volatility.
The WMP introduces multiple new technology solutions that are being tested, evaluated and, in some cases, deployed in concert with proven wildfire risk reduction programs, including the following:
- Gridscope devices. Gridscope pilot deployment started in 2023 and expanded in 2024 with more than 10,000 Gridscope devices now in use across 900 circuit miles (or approximately
3.5% of miles in areas with the highest fire risk) These pole-mounted sensors can detect vibrations, sounds and light that could indicate potential anomalies that could lead to an ignition. In July 2024, during a record-setting heat wave, an electric troubleshooter who traveled to a location identified via a Gridscope alert found vegetation smoldering on an energized line. The line was de-energized, averting an ignition and possible wildfire. PG&E's evaluation of the devices continues as wider deployment is considered. - Early Fault Detection (EFD). It's like the power grid's version of the check-engine light in your car. Thanks to PG&E's new radio frequency (RF) monitoring technology, a growing network of EFD sensors on power poles provide a comprehensive understanding of emerging equipment hazards such as damaged conductor strands or vegetation encroachment that would otherwise be challenging to detect. Promising early results have led PG&E to consider expanding deployment of advanced RF technology. These purposeful investments in technology could change the paradigm of utility asset management.
- Aerial Span Inspections. This new inspection tool gets added eyes-on-risk on equipment in areas of extreme wildfire risk. Leveraging aerial inspections in 2024 (220,000 poles) and 2025, the span inspections will entail a review of a streamlined, specialized set of photos tailored to identify conditions on equipment that pose the highest risk, including locations mid-span (between poles). These inspections will take place in the middle of the established three-year inspection cycle and be piloted in 2026-2028.
Proven Layers of Protection
The WMP highlights layers of protection that have proven to be effective in reducing wildfire risk. Using these tools, no major wildfires resulted from the company's equipment in 2023 and 2024.
- Undergrounding powerlines in high fire-risk areas is a permanent protection that reduces the ignition risk from overhead electric distribution lines. PG&E plans to underground 1,077 miles of powerlines between 2026 and 2028.
- Overhead System Upgrades such as installing covered conductor, strengthened poles, and wider crossarms will provide long-term ignition risk reduction by improving how the grid is constructed and operated. The WMP calls for making these overhead upgrades across 190 circuit miles each year of 2026, 2027 and 2028, resulting in 570 miles over three years.
- Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings protect 1.8 million PG&E customers living and working in areas with elevated or extreme wildfire risk. In 2024, these settings contributed to more than
72% reduction in California Public Utilities Commission-reportable ignitions when enabled on primary distribution lines, compared to the 2018-2020 average. More than half of customers protected by EPSS did not experience a power outage while EPSS was enabled in 2024.
PG&E recognizes that outages on EPSS-enabled circuits, when they do occur, are an inconvenience. Through the end of 2024, the average duration of outages on an EPSS-enabled circuit decreased
- Vegetation Management programs continue to evolve using a data-driven, risk-informed approach to help reduce both outages and potential ignitions caused by vegetation contacting PG&E's equipment.
- Inspections and Repair Efforts are informed by risk models and are part of comprehensive monitoring and data collection programs providing insight into changing environmental hazards around assets to inform mitigation actions.
- Situational Awareness Improvements include enabling artificial intelligence to process wildfire camera data and provide automated wildfire notifications. PG&E will continue using state-of-the-art weather forecasting and a comprehensive monitoring and data collection network that uses high-definition wildfire cameras and weather stations to help detect, prevent, and respond to the risk of wildfires.
- Public Safety Power Shutoffs are a last resort during extreme weather conditions to reduce the risk of catastrophic fire. PG&E's experienced meteorologists use cutting-edge weather models to forecast risk on a granular basis and factor in vegetation in proximity to overhead electrical lines. In recent years, PG&E's use of PSPS has evolved and been refined in terms of the size and duration of events. In 2023, three PSPS outages affected 5,000 customers. With 2024's more severe weather, PG&E initiated six PSPS events protecting 50,000 customers in 23 counties.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than 16 million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and
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SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company
FAQ
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