PG&E on track to underground at least 350 miles of power lines by end of 2023

In an effort to reduce wildfire risks, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) noted last week that it is on track to underground at least 350 miles of power lines by the end of the year, with heavy construction work progressing trenching efforts in California.

“Our team has learned and accomplished so much in the past two and a half years since we announced our 10,000-mile Undergrounding Program,” Peter Kenny, PG&E’s senior vice president of major infrastructure delivery, said. “That learning equates to greater efficiency and means we’re able to safely put powerlines underground more quickly and reduce the cost per mile.”

Underground construction has its own share of concerns compared to above ground work, and in this case, digging trenches and installing conduits to hold electric lines in place are both the most time and labor-intensive part of the process. As of last week, that work is complete: 350 miles of trenches and conduit now run through the state.

Now, crews need to pull power lines through the conduit, install extra electrical system equipment and complete a swap, whereby the overhead lines are de-energized and the underground lines are energized. As of last week, more than 137 of those miles had already been fully energized.

PG&E ultimately plans to deploy 2,000 miles of lines underground by 2026. On average, it’s managing about 20 miles of underground energization each week. By 2026, though, it hopes to up the annual total from 350 miles to 750. That effort also comes with cost benefits. The company noted that the cost per mile of undergrounding will likely decrease from $3.3 million today to $2.8 million in 2026.

All of this stems from a 2021 announcement that PG&E would underground 10,000 miles of power lines to reduce wildfire risk in the region, and from calls from customers and communities throughout California.