An even more ambitious utility line undergrounding plan has been unveiled by PG and E that includes more miles for Nevada County. It’s been filed with the California Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety. The company has planned for completing 19-hundred miles in high wildfire risk areas in dozens of Northern and Central counties in its coverage area, for the period of 2021 through 2027. That includes just 13 miles in Nevada County. But Paul Moreno, with Marketing and Communications, says the proposed plan covers another 10 years that would include 127 miles in the county…

 

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That would cover over 30 Northern and Central California counties. Around two-thousand miles of overhead power line upgrades has also been completed recently. While it’s unclear how the work could impact bills, Moreno says there’ll be a cost benefit in the long run…

 

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Moreno says long-term benefits are valued at around 117-billion dollars. The company estimates that the proposal will also save customers about six-billion dollars in vegetation management, operations, and maintenance costs over the life of these assets. The plan would also reduce PG and E’s wildfire liability. They’ve already paid or committed over 24-and-a-half billion dollars to settle lawsuits from past incidents. That’s alongside billions more in insurance, public entity, and criminal/civil penalty agreements.