PG&E to Move, 10,000 Miles<br />of Power Lines, Underground in<br />Wildfire-Prone Areas.<br />PG&E's intent is to prevent its electrical<br />grid from sparking additional wildfires.<br />PG&E's intent is to prevent its electrical<br />grid from sparking additional wildfires.<br />The utility company is currently under investigation for<br />igniting the Dixie Fire, which has so far burned<br />through 86,000 acres in California. .<br />The project, announced<br />on July 22, will focus<br />on distribution lines in<br />wildfire-prone locations<br />of PG&E’s service area.<br />The estimated cost to complete the entire undergrounding process is between $15 billion and $30 billion.<br />PG&E previously resisted plans<br />to bury power lines because of an<br />estimated cost of $3 million per mile. .<br />But newly-hired PG&E CEO Patricia Poppe<br />has decided to focus on the value of human lives.<br />It's too expensive not to<br />do it. Lives are on the line, Patricia Poppe, via statement.<br />The current process used to bury<br />power lines is slow, with PG&E saying the <br />most its completed in a single day is 1,250 feet. .<br />PG&E chief operating officer Adam Wright<br />says they expect to eventually be able to bury<br />more than 1,000 miles of power lines a year.
