PG&E is proposing to place nearly 500 miles of power lines underground across the Central Coast as part of an effort aimed at reducing wildfire risk and improving service reliability.
The proposal is included in the utility's 10-year undergrounding plan filed with the California Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety. If approved, PG&E would underground an additional 5,000 miles of electric distribution lines in high fire-risk areas across Central and Northern California by 2037.
Nearly 500 of those miles would be on the Central Coast, including 91 miles in San Luis Obispo County, 81 miles in Santa Barbara County, 157 miles in Santa Cruz County and 139 miles in Monterey County.
PG&E spokesperson Stephanie Magallon said placing power lines underground helps protect them from vegetation that can contribute to wildfires and outages.
“We actually trench and put power lines underground, which keeps them in a much safer location because they're no longer surrounded by trees and other vegetation that can cause wildfire risk and also outages,” Magallon said.
According to Magallon, the proposal carries an estimated cost of $11.4 billion. However, PG&E says the project could deliver more than $117 billion in long-term benefits by helping prevent wildfires and reduce power outages.
The utility also expects customers to save money over time through reduced vegetation management, maintenance and operating costs.
“We are estimating that our customers can save about $6 billion in the long term in just vegetation management and maintenance and operation costs,” Magallon said. “Once we take those power lines underground, we no longer have to be constantly trimming or removing trees to ensure a safe clearance around these power lines.”
Some residents support the idea of undergrounding power lines but remain skeptical about the potential cost savings.
“Well, I'm all for putting power lines underground and it opens up the vista,” one resident said. “The idea that it'll be cheaper doesn't make sense to me.”
PG&E is awaiting approval from state regulators before moving forward with the proposal. If approved, the utility would continue expanding undergrounding projects across California over the next decade.
