PG&E considers Central Coast Counties in their plans for buried power lines
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KMUV-TV) PG&E announced plans to bury 10,000 miles of distribution power lines, in high fire risk areas throughout portions of the state. In the next 5 year, 3,600 miles of those lines may be under ground already. A few of those locations being considered are right here on the Central Coast.
The hot, dry weather we’ve been experiencing the past few days is a good reminder that the risk of fires can come at any time of the year, highlighting the importance of a project like underground power lines.
"This is actually something our residents have been asking for since before the CZU Fire from August of 2020," said Jason Hoppin, Santa Cruz County Communication Manager.
Though the CZU Complex Fire was not caused by downed powerlines, but rather lighting, other factors like wind and drought stricken fuels also pose a fire threat for many who call the Santa Cruz Mountains home.
"There's a lot of people living in the mountains in our county, and it's just safer for everyone if the lines are underground. When trees fall on lines, they can start fires and obviously that can have a big impact,” added Hoppin.
This would also lessen the impact of Public Safety Power Shutoffs that occur in response to severe weather, to help prevent wildfires. Hoppin said its an added benefit.
"There's people that depend on power because they have power and medical devices and things like that. Every time they need to do it, we understand what they're trying to do. But it does come with side effects for our residents that need to be mitigated,” Hoppin said.
Monterey and San Benito Counties will also be considered.
"We are looking at our electric assets in each one of these counties to determine which areas make the most sense where we can bury the power lines. There are different challenges with some of these areas,” mentioned Mayra Tostado, Corporate Communications Representative, Principal Marketing & Communications, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E).
In areas where it may not be safe to underground powerlines, PG&E is looking into the possibility of microgirds. Last year (2021) the company buried about 70 miles of lines, and hopes to more than double that this year.
"We want to ramp up our efforts as we're able to secure more contracts and then also lower the cost of under grounding those powerlines,” continued Tostado.
PG&E will have more details on locations and where to start burying underground lines, following their wildfire mitigation plan on Feb. 25.
As part of the aftermath and recovery process from the CZU Fire, Santa Cruz County did ask PG&E to look at under grounding some lines in parts of the burn scar, specially the "White House Canyon" area. The electric company did agree to that work. Both the county and PG&E will start talking to residents in March.
