The California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC’s) Wildfire Safety Division recently completed an audit of PG&E’s Enhanced Vegetation Management work, which is outlined in their approved Wildfire Mitigation Plan, and found concerning results including instances where less than 5% of Enhanced Vegetation Management was done on the 20 highest-risk power lines. According to the audit, not only did PG&E fail to self-report problems, but PG&E also changed its approach to its risk ranking on multiple occasions when prompted by the Wildfire Safety Division on the inconsistencies of PG&E’s reported data.
As a condition of exiting Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year and improving safety performance, the Commission established “Triggering Events” and associated remedies ranging from enhanced reporting to potential revocation of PG&E’s ability to operate as a California utility. Given the serious defects of PG&E’s Enhanced Vegetation Management program, the CPUC published a draft Resolution that would place PG&E into an “Enhanced Oversight and Enforcement Process” for insufficient progress of wildfire mitigation efforts. RCRC’s comments on that resolution can be found here. If approved at their April 15th Voting Meeting, PG&E would be required to submit regular Correct Action Plan reports until the Commission is satisfied with their performance.