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By Adam Beam

The Associated Press

VACAVILLE, Calif. 鈥� Pacific Gas & Electric 鈥� one of the nation鈥檚 largest utilities whose equipment has sparked some of California鈥檚 deadliest wildfires 鈥� wants to bury power lines in some of its most at-risk areas to prevent destructive blazes like聽the 聽that killed 85 people.

But state regulators are balking at the utility鈥檚 plan because it would take too long and cost $5.9 billion. The company鈥檚 customers 鈥� who already are charged some of the highest rates in the country 鈥� would have to pay for it.

Regulators want PG&E to put a protective cover over many of its overhead power lines instead of burying them. The cover approach is cheaper, but riskier. PG&E says burying a power line reduces the chance it will start a wildfire by 99 percent because it can鈥檛 be blown down by windstorms. The protective cover, which would better insulate the power line should it fall to the ground, would reduce that chance by 62 percent.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to live with 35 percent risk,鈥� said PG&E CEO Patti Poppe, who was rounding down in her assessment. 鈥淲ho wants to get on a plane that has a 35 percent chance of crashing?鈥�

PG&E, which in 2019聽when it faced more than $30 billion in damages for wildfires started by its equipment, is trying to convince regulators that its line-burying plan is better. The company filed its plan with state regulators last year.

The California Public Utilities Commission, whose members are appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, is scheduled to decide the issue next month. PG&E presented its case in person before the commission on Wednesday.

What PG&E wants to do is unprecedented in both scale and speed. Its plan to bury 2,000 miles of power lines is part of a broader goal of putting 10,000 miles underground over the next decade. The case is being closely watched throughout the country as more utilities weigh the risks versus the costs of burying power lines.

Most of the nation鈥檚 power lines are above ground because it鈥檚 cheaper than alternatives. But more utilities have been burying power lines in response to bigger and more destructive natural disasters. In Florida, where hurricanes are more of a threat than wildfires, about 45 percent of Florida Power & Light鈥檚 distribution system is underground, according to the company鈥檚 website.

California鈥檚 other big investor-owned utilities have also been putting power lines underground. Southern California Edison, the utility that covers much of central and Southern California, says it plans to bury 600 miles of power lines by 2028. San Diego Gas & Electric has buried 145 miles of power lines since 2020 and plans to bury 1,500 miles more by 2031.

The issue can have repercussions beyond the price of electricity. In the past year, seven of the top 12 insurance companies doing business in California have either聽 in the state, citing wildfire risk.

On a recent afternoon, Poppe 鈥� PG&E鈥檚聽CEO since 2021聽鈥� visited a construction site between Sacramento and San Francisco where crews were burying a stretch of power lines that previously were overhead. Poppe was there to celebrate the company meeting its goal of burying at least 350 miles of power lines this year. That milestone is proof the company can meet its ambitious targets, she says.

Poppe donned a hard hat and protective glasses to watch workers pour a concrete mixture into a freshly dug trench along a rural, two-lane road. Behind them, charred trees stood sentry on brown hills, evidence of the聽聽that destroyed nearly 1,500 structures and killed six people. Those fires were started by lightning, not PG&E鈥檚 power lines, but serve as reminders of wildfires鈥� lasting damage.

鈥淥ne of the big criticisms about PG&E is we did not adapt to changing conditions,鈥� Poppe said. 鈥淓veryone says we should have seen these wildfire conditions. Everyone says PG&E should have invested in the infrastructure. And so, here we are. We鈥檝e now changed and we鈥檙e asking people to catch up with us.鈥�

Critics scoff, noting that PG&E鈥檚 plan would boost profits for a 聽to 84 counts of manslaughter in connection with the 2018 wildfire that mostly destroyed the town of Paradise. Their plan, which includes projects in addition to burying power lines, would raise customer rates an average of nearly 18 percent, or $38.73 per month.

鈥淚 really find it hard to believe anything they say about their commitment to safety,鈥� said Ken Cook, president of Environmental Working Group and a PG&E customer. 鈥淭hey are going to make a lot of money burying these lines.鈥�

The Public Utilities Commission is considering two other plans that would include both burying power lines and using protective coverings. The plans would reduce the number of power lines that PG&E could bury by at least half. One plan would raise rates by slightly more than 12 percent and the other would raise rates by about 10 percent.

Already, PG&E鈥檚 residential rates have more than doubled since 2006. It鈥檚 been even worse for low-income customers, whose rates have gone up 170 percent over that same time period, according to The Utility Reform Network, an advocacy group for ratepayers. PG&E says its electric-only rates have increased an average of 4 percent per year since 2006.

While burying power lines is the most effective way to prevent wildfires, it is not a quick fix. It takes a long time compared to other methods because of the time needed to plan as well as acquire the necessary permits and permissions to dig.

At the start of 2018, both PG&E and Southern California Edison had only 5 percent of their high-threat fire districts protected with either underground lines or protective covers, according to the California Public Advocates Office, the state agency that represents customers before the Public Utilities Commission.

More than five years later, 55 percent of Southern California Edison鈥檚 equipment in high-threat fire districts are protected compared to just 9 percent of PG&E鈥檚 system. Matt Baker, director of the California Public Advocates Office, says it鈥檚 good for PG&E to bury some power lines 鈥� but they must also use other methods to protect more areas faster.

鈥淲e have to get it done as quickly as possible to reduce the risk as much as possible,鈥� Baker said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter if we have like this incredibly gold-plated, awesome, underground system if, over the next ten years, we鈥檝e got a hundred or so wildfires that are starting to hit the other places because we鈥檙e not there yet.鈥�

PG&E says it had improved protections for 14 percent of its system in areas at high risk for wildfires by the end of 2022. Plus, it says it has more than two and a half times more miles of distribution lines in high-risk areas than Southern California Edison.

PG&E has a 鈥渁 moral obligation鈥� to reduce wildfire risk, Poppe says. She still wears a ladybug pin on her shirt every day to remind her of Feyla McLeod, an 8-year-old girl who died in a 2020 Northern California wildfire ignited by PG&E鈥檚 equipment.

鈥淓very day I鈥檓 recommitting to preventing that from happening again,鈥� she said.