Pacific Gas and Electric Co. announces that it is building upon proven layers of protection that have ensured no major wildfires resulted from the company’s equipment in 2023 and 2024. As part of this effort, the utility is sharing a “robust, risk-informed strategy” that is “infused with technological innovation” to continue that progress in light of an ever-changing climate.
PG&E’s 2026-2028 wildfire mitigation plan, submitted to California’s Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, details the company’s actions to construct, maintain and operate its system to minimize the risk of catastrophic wildfires and help keep its customers and hometowns safe. PG&E says the plan integrates high-tech tools and solutions including inspecting assets with drones, using artificial intelligence to improve weather forecasts and installing sophisticated sensors that can detect vibrations, sounds and light that could indicate potential anomalies on an electric circuit that could lead to an ignition.
PG&E’s plan outlines layers of protection that work together to reduce wildfire ignition risk and strengthen PG&E’s electric grid in Northern and Central California locations where risk is most severe. These measures include strengthening over 700 miles of overhead powerlines and poles, removing lines and adding remote grids; putting nearly 1,100 more miles of powerlines underground; using drones to get a bird’s-eye view of electric assets; benefiting from a network of weather stations and high-definition cameras with AI; trimming trees; and more.
When wildfire risk is elevated, these efforts are bolstered with effective operational mitigations such as enhanced powerline safety settings and public safety power shutoffs that protect customers, the utility says.
“Our system is safer today than it was yesterday, and it will be even safer tomorrow,” said Sumeet Singh, PG&E executive vice president, operations and chief operating officer. “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.
“Our focus on improving customer experience related to our wildfire mitigation efforts is unwavering. 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 PG&E’s 24/7/365 Hazard Awareness and Warning Center mature and become more beneficial, the utility says it 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 wildfire mitigation plan 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 — 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: PG&E says early fault detection is like the power grid’s version of the check-engine light in a car. Thanks to PG&E’s new radio frequency monitoring technology, a growing network of EFD sensors on power poles provides 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, says the utility.
- Aerial span inspections: This new inspection tool gets added eyes-on-risk on equipment in areas of extreme wildfire risk, reports PG&E. 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 midspan (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 wildfire mitigation plan 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 areas of high fire risk 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 conductors, strengthened poles and wider crossarms, will provide long-term ignition risk reduction by improving how the grid is constructed and operated. The mitigation plan calls for over 700 miles of overhead hardening and line removal with remote grids in 2026-2028.
- Enhanced powerline safety settings protect 1.8 million PG&E customers living and working in areas with elevated or extreme wildfire risk, said PG&E. In 2024, these settings contributed to more than a 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 17% from the prior two-year average. PG&E said it also plans to install additional sectionalizing devices and animal/avian protection equipment to further reduce the impact of EPSS outages.
- 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 says it 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, says the utility. 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.