PG&E Corp. Chief Executive Officer Patti Poppe is making a last-ditch effort to convince California to sign off on the utility’s $5.9 billion plan to put power lines underground to prevent wildfires.
Poppe is scheduled to discuss the plan Friday with state regulators who have pushed back with their own proposal they say is cheaper and faster for Californians, who already face some of the highest power rates in the country.
“It’s a no-brainer,” Poppe said in an interview with Bloomberg. “We need to bury these lines.”
PG&E proposes to bury 2,000 miles of electrical wire over four years in high fire-threat areas. State regulators instead put forward plans to reduce the number by at least half, with the remaining overhead wires being covered by a protective material.
Choosing between covering conductors and burying lines is a “sucker’s choice” because the utility is doing both, Poppe said. And while the cost to bury the lines is considerable, doing so will benefit customers in the long run by saving PG&E from having to continually trim back trees and repair fallen overhead wires, Poppe said.
Read More: PG&E to Pay $45 Million for Second-Largest California Fire
The five-member California Public Utilities Commission is scheduled to vote on the plan next week as part of PG&E’s general rate proposal to increase revenue collected from customers by 26% for 2023, with smaller increases through 2026. Regulators have countered with proposals that would allow for as much as a 13% increase. PG&E says its plan would result in an annual compounded rate increase of 3% over four years.
“My feedback to the commission is that this is affordable. And I’m not just talking about undergrounding, I’m talking about the whole general rate case,” Poppe said.
During its third-quarter earnings call Thursday, PG&E executives said the state’s recommendations would restrict cash flow and jeopardize the company’s efforts to restore its credit metrics to investment grade. The utility has been working toward restoring its credit ratings since it was forced to file bankruptcy four years ago after sparking some of the worst wildfires in California history.
“California does need to attract investment for this very essential infrastructure to deliver the clean energy of the future that California’s standing for,” Poppe said.
PG&E shares rose 1.4% to $16.10 at 10:09 a.m. in New York. The stock is down over 1% year-to-date.
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