Pacific Gas and Electric Company Proposes $7.4 Billion in Investments to Enhance Safety and Clean Energy Solutions

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has submitted a proposal to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to invest $7.4 billion in its 2023 General Rate Case (GRC), aiming to strengthen its electric system against wildfires and other environmental risks, enhance gas and electric system safety, and increase the use of new, innovative technologies.

As PG&E's 16 million customers face the challenges of meeting their evolving energy needs, the company is committed to providing safe, reliable, and clean energy services. To achieve this goal, PG&E has outlined crucial investments in grid safety and resiliency, new technology and innovations, and gas and electric system infrastructure improvements to benefit its customers. The proposed investments will help reduce wildfire risk, enhance local electric grid resilience through community microgrid projects, and increase the use of new, innovative technologies.

"We are committed to improving the critical energy infrastructure that serves each of our 16 million customers, while also ensuring that energy remains as affordable as possible," said Robert Kenney, PG&E Vice President of Regulatory and External Affairs.

The proposed investments in safety and resiliency include:

• Hardening power lines and placing more power lines underground to reduce wildfire risk
• Testing and using new tools and technologies to better pinpoint how to prevent and respond to wildfires
• Meeting and exceeding state vegetation safety standards to manage trees and other vegetation that could cause a wildfire or power outage
• Removing dead, dying, and diseased trees that could strike overhead power lines
• Deploying LiDAR technology and remote sensing data in extreme and elevated fire-risk areas to validate vegetation management work
• Using technology to detect downed power lines within minutes and respond to reduce the possibility of ignitions caused by PG&E assets

The proposal also includes significant investments to improve gas and electric system safety, reliability, and resiliency, as well as clean energy infrastructure.

Key Takeaways:

• PG&E proposes investing $7.4 billion in its 2023 General Rate Case (GRC)
• The investments aim to strengthen electric system safety against wildfires and environmental risks
• Key investments include hardening power lines, testing new technologies, and deploying LiDAR technology
• PG&E aims to increase the use of new, innovative technologies to enhance grid safety and resiliency
• The company's open and transparent public regulatory review process invites feedback and participation from customers
• PG&E commits to minimizing future rate impact through cost-savings initiatives and operational savings

Statistics:

• $7.4 billion proposed for investment from 2023-2026
• Approximately 5% average annual increase in customer bills from 2021-2026
• Average monthly bill for a typical residential non-California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) customer expected to increase by about $1 a day in 2023
• Over 1,000 electric vehicles to be added to PG&E's fleet by 2026

Sources:

• Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)
• California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)
• Business Wire news release