PG&E to bring their Elkhorn BESS back online June 1
MOSS LANDING, Calif. (KION) - Update 6:36 p.m. PG&E confirmed they are bringing the Elkhorn Battery Energy Storage Facility back online.
PG&E sent KION the following statement:
We understand that the safety and well-being of our community is of utmost importance. PG&E is deeply committed to providing safe, clean, and reliable energy for all, and this includes the safe operation of PG&E’s Elkhorn Battery Energy Storage Facility.
Battery energy storage plays a key role in supporting grid reliability while providing cost savings for electric customers and helping to support the state’s decarbonization goals to integrate more renewable resources into PG&E’s power mix.
PG&E has taken extensive actions and implemented numerous measures to ensure the safe operation of our Elkhorn battery, including updating, sharing and publishing our Emergency Action Plan and Pre-Fire Plan, conducting emergency response training for site personnel, coordinating joint training efforts and participating in exercises with North County Fire and CAL OES, creating an air dispersion model for the site with Tesla, designing and installing a continuous air monitoring system in consultation with the EPA, and creating an Incident Management Team (IMT), which has been certified by FEMA under the National Incident Management System, to mobilize and respond to large scale incidents and coordinate with first responders. Additionally, Tesla and PG&E have performed extensive inspection and clean-up at the Elkhorn Facility within the Moss Landing Substation necessitated by the Vistra fire and the subsequent distribution of particulates from the Vistra fire. This included disassembly, inspection, and vacuum cleaning of the interior of each megapack. PG&E also coordinated with the County Incident Command to inspect the Elkhorn Facility to ensure the site was safe prior to having personnel return. Refer to the copy of the letter that PG&E has provided for more details about the work we’ve done.
On May 7, 2025, PG&E submitted a letter to county officials and copied state and federal officials detailing the actions we have taken in response to the January 16, 2025, fire at the Moss Landing facility owned and managed by Vistra Corporation and to share our plans to return our Elkhorn Battery Storage Facility back to service. PG&E’s Elkhorn Facility is a critical facility to the region and state’s energy reliability.
The Elkhorn Facility, as constructed, allows for efficient storage and use of power. As summer approaches, it helps strengthen the reliability of the California power grid and protects PG&E’s customers from power limitations and related impacts. Accordingly, PG&E believes it is appropriate to return Elkhorn to service by June 1 to support grid reliability and that it is safe to do so.
We value our relationship with local officials and stakeholders and will continue to actively engage and coordinate with them to address any concerns and to detail the work performed by PG&E to mitigate any effects of the Vistra fire on the Elkhorn Facility and surrounding community.
PG&E to bring their Moss Landing BESS back online June 1
MOSS LANDING, Calif. (KION) -- Monterey County District 2 Supervisor Glenn Church stated on his Facebook page that PG&E intends to resume its battery energy storage operations on June 1.
Supervisor Church said that while the PG&E facility did not catch fire on the same day of the January 16 incident, the facility was closed out of precaution.
The Monterey County Board of Supervisors had sent a joint letter to Vistra and PG&E requesting that neither Vistra nor PG&E's BESS facilities return online until after the cause of the Vistra fire was determined.
Supervisor Church elaborated further, stating his disappointment in the news of their probable restart.
"I had hoped that PG&E would take a more transparent and collaborative approach in addressing the concerns of our surrounding communities, which are still grappling with the fallout of the largest BESS fire in history. Restarting operations before investigations are complete and before stronger emergency protocols are in place is disappointing and deeply troubling," Church said.
KION has reached out to PG&E for a statement.
This is a developing story.
