Undergrounding and system upgrades

Improving wildfire safety and reliability for our customers

View our wildfire safety progress map to see where this work is happening.

View progress map

Undergrounding & system upgrades

PG&E is working to install thousands of miles of powerlines below ground in high wildfire risk areas. We are also upgrading our electric system by installing strong poles and covered powerlines. This work will help keep customers and communities safe.

How we determine where to complete wildfire safety work

PG&E uses a risk model to determine where to complete wildfire safety work. This risk model tells us which areas we serve are at the highest risk of wildfires. The type of improvement we make depends on terrain, vegetation, weather patterns and more.

The types of system improvements we consider include:

Moving powerlines underground
Installing strong poles
Covering powerlines
Trimming trees

These are just some of the layers of protection that help keep customers safe. Learn more about our other layers of wildfire protection. Visit PG&E's Community Wildfire Safety Program.

Benefits of undergrounding for wildfire safety

Our undergrounding efforts involve moving sections of powerlines below ground. This eliminates nearly all wildfire ignition risk from that line. It also improves reliability.

Undergrounding is safe, strong and more cost-effective in the long term. This proven process:

Reduces nearly all wildfire risk in a given location
Improves reliability and limits outages
Decreases the need for future tree and vegetation work
Lowers maintenance and operating costs

important notice Note: After we complete this work, customers will continue to see other equipment overhead. In most cases, this includes telephone lines or lower-voltage powerlines connecting to individual homes or businesses.

Download PG&E's undergrounding fact sheet

Benefits of system upgrades for wildfire safety

We are upgrading overhead poles and powerlines to reduce wildfire risk. We describe these changes as system upgrades, or overhead hardening. This work reduces ignition risk by nearly 64% on a line once completed. When used with other wildfire safety tools, additional risk is reduced. It is also a useful tool in areas where powerlines cannot be moved underground.

These efforts are targeted in high wildfire-risk areas and can include:

Replacing bare powerlines with strong covered powerlines
Installing strong poles
Installing more poles to support the weight of covered powerlines
Removing overhead poles and lines that are no longer needed

important notice Note: After we complete this work, customers may also see remaining poles for phone, internet or other electrical lines.

What can I expect during this work?

We will keep you informed if we identify your area for wildfire safety work. Projects that include moving powerlines underground typically take 12 to 24 months to complete. The installation of strong poles and covered powerlines typically takes 6 to 18 months to complete*.

In your neighborhood you may see:

Phase 1: Scoping and surveying	Crews walking your neighborhood to identify and mark potential project routes. This includes survey crews painting and staking.
Phase 2: Design	PG&E representatives meeting with property owners about easements. Performing soil samples and inspecting vegetation.
Phase 3: Pre-construction preparation	Crews trimming or cutting down trees and shrubs and construction to install new equipment. Traffic control measures will be in place to keep you safe.
Phase 4: Construction and planned outage	PG&E representatives working to install and energize upgraded powerlines. Your power may need to be turned off for a short time to complete this work safely.
Phase 5: Post-construction	Work to restore the area and removal of any remaining construction equipment or materials.

Phase 1: Scoping and surveying

Crews walking your neighborhood to identify and mark potential project routes. This includes survey crews painting and staking.

Phase 2: Design

PG&E representatives meeting with property owners about easements. Performing soil samples and inspecting vegetation.

Phase 3: Pre-construction preparation

Crews trimming or cutting down trees and shrubs and construction to install new equipment. Traffic control measures will be in place to keep you safe.

Phase 4: Construction and planned outage

PG&E representatives working to install and energize upgraded powerlines. Your power may need to be turned off for a short time to complete this work safely.

Phase 5: Post-construction

Work to restore the area and removal of any remaining construction equipment or materials.

* Phases 1 through 3 may take 1 to 18 months. Phases 4 and 5 may take 2 to 3 months each.

important notice For your safety, all crews and contractors conducting this work are happy to provide photo ID on request.

Learn more about our wildfire safety work

Undergrounding for public safety

Audio description

Transcript (PDF)

Permitting and land rights

The scope of each undergrounding and system upgrade project can vary. This means permitting and easement needs also vary across projects.

If a permit is needed, PG&E will work with local permitting agencies before moving forward with construction.
If an easement or land use agreement is needed, PG&E’s land team will work directly with individual property owners.
If you have questions about permitting, easements or land use agreements for work in your area, email undergrounding@pge.com.

Customer and community resources

Undergrounding resources for your county

Additional information or a map is available for each county by clicking the links below:

Find information about wildfire safety work in your area by visiting our wildfire safety progress map.

* Data as of January 13, 2025. Some undergrounding projects include associated system upgrade mileage. This map is for illustrative purposes. Forecasts can change as our risk model evolves to address the greatest wildfire risk. Forecast miles also exceed annual targets. Mileage in a community may increase or decrease due to access, weather, permitting or other constraints. In most cases, if a project is not completed during the year originally identified, it will continue through planning/construction phases during subsequent years. Mileage represents projects that will be energized in a given year. Construction for a project may begin before the year of energization and final property and road restoration work may occur after the year of energization.

Resources - learn more about this work

Undergrounding and overhead system upgrade videos

Learn more about our undergrounding and system hardening upgrades work by viewing the videos below.

Audio description

Transcript (PDF)

1 / 3

Frequently asked questions

Show all

Hide all

Find information on planned and completed undergrounding and system upgrades projects on our wildfire safety progress map.
Find additional maps or information for each county where undergrounding work is planned on the "Undergrounding resources for your county" tab

We will keep you informed if we identify your home or business for wildfire safety work. We may reach out using letters, emails, text messages and phone calls.

If you have any questions, email undergrounding@pge.com or call 1-877-265-1399.

We are prioritizing undergrounding and system upgrades in high fire-risk areas.
Because we are focused on reducing wildfire risk, we are not taking community or customer requests for undergrounding or system upgrades as part of this program.
That said, PG&E does have other non-wildfire safety related programs for moving powerlines underground.
There is also the Rule 20 (A, B and C) Program.
These programs allow customers, cities, counties or other individuals to request undergrounding.
This work is funded by the applicant or in some cases work credits (only agencies can use these work credits).

These programs prioritize our undergrounding and system upgrades work in areas where we can have the greatest impact on reducing wildfire risk.
We have already completed 875+ miles of the 1,600+ miles of undergrounding we plan to complete in the highest fire-risk areas by the end of 2026.
We will continue to work with California regulators to finalize plans for future years.
This will be done through our long-term undergrounding plan.
These plans will substantially reduce wildfire risk across our service area.
We have also completed 1,300+ miles of the 1,900+ miles of system upgrades (strong poles and covered powerlines) we plan to install by the end of 2026.
We will continue to scope work and identify undergrounding and system upgrade miles for future years. Work will first go to the highest-risk circuits.

Undergrounding and system upgrades are just two of the many layers of protection that reduce wildfire risk. We will also:

Manage trees and shrubs to ensure they grow a safe distance from powerlines.
Employ our network of weather stations and cameras to better detect extreme weather and wildfires.
Utilize Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings and more.

To see where many of these layers of protection are in use in your community, visit our wildfire safety progress map.

Distribution powerlines are the smaller powerlines that carry electricity through neighborhoods. Transmission lines are the larger lines that carry power long distances.

Data shows that these distribution powerlines are at a higher wildfire risk than transmission lines. Transmission lines also have larger clear spaces around them from vegetation and on the ground, making wildfire risk lower. This is why PG&E’s undergrounding and system upgrade work targets distribution lines.

Of course, PG&E also has strategies to lower wildfire risk on transmission lines. These include:

Conducting risk-based equipment inspections and repairs.
Replacing lines when needed.
Addressing trees and vegetation under and around transmission lines.
Utilizing powerline safety settings.
De-energizing lines as needed during Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS).

PG&E is committed to learning and sharing undergrounding best practices to drive safety, efficiency, scale, and continuous improvement. As part of these efforts, in mid-2023 PG&E conducted a survey to 11 other U.S. investor-owned utilities to seek insights on how these utilities have approached undergrounding in the regions they serve.

The benchmarking survey report (PDF) includes background, details, and a summary of the results from the 2023 survey.

Other undergrounding information

PG&E has multiple programs that underground powerlines. Our work to move powerlines underground to reduce wildfire risk is one program. There are also the Rule 20 (A, B and C) Program.

Rule 20 has three sections (A, B and C). Rule 20 sections are determined by the type of project and who pays for the work. Rule 20 projects also typically involve undergrounding all above-ground utilities and poles (including telecommunication lines), which is different than wildfire safety-related undergrounding.

Rule 20-related undergrounding work can be requested by:

Cities
Counties
Other municipalities
Developers
Individuals or groups of customers

Work is completed by following the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Rule 20 electric distribution tariff guidelines.

For more information on Rule 20 please refer to the below documents:

important notice Note: The CPUC decided in June 2023 to end the Rule 20A program by December 31, 2033. Rules 20B and 20C are not affected by this decision.

November 2024: PG&E Reaches Significant Undergrounding Milestone, Burying More than 800 Miles of Lines in High Wildfire-Risk Areas

August 2024: PG&E Undergrounding Contractors Save Women, House from Fire

June 2024: New Online Map Lets Customers See Wildfire Prevention Progress in their Hometowns

February 2024: Climate-Tech Solutions Aimed at Achieving a Clean Energy Future

See our progress and future plans

Data as of 1/13/2025

Since launching our 10,000-mile undergrounding program in 2021, we have:

Constructed and energized more than 875 miles of underground powerlines
Completed this work on time and on budget
As of December 16, 2024, we reached our goal of moving 250 miles of powerlines underground in 2024.

View planned and completed undergrounding on the wildfire safety progress map.

Undergrounding power lines progress thermometer

Photos of undergrounding work

1 / 4

System upgrade progress

Data as of 01/13/2025

We have installed 1,300+ miles of strong poles and covered powerlines since we launched our Community Wildfire Safety Program in 2018. As of December 16, 2024, we reached our goal of installing 70 miles of strong poles and covered powerlines in 2024. In some cases, this work included limited line removal.

View planned and completed system upgrades on the wildfire safety progress map.

System Upgrades Installed in 2024	System Upgrades Installed since 2018
130 + Miles	1,300 + Miles

10-Year Electrical Undergrounding Plan (EUP)

SB 884 Expedited Undergrounding Program Discovery/Data Requests

PG&E has responded to discovery or data requests relating to the filing of a 10-year Electrical Undergrounding Plan (EUP) under Senate Bill 884. Each discovery or data request from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Safety Policy Division (SPD) related to PG&E's EUP is included in the links below.

This page is updated weekly with the latest SPD discovery or data requests and responses.

Updated as of: January 14, 2025

important notice Note: If there are no new responses in a given week, the date will not be updated.

Contact Us with Issues

Report any accessibility barriers you encounter by contacting undergrounding@pge.com. The mailbox is monitored during our business hours (Monday - Friday; 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.). We will respond within 3 business days.

CPUC Safety Policy Division (SPD)

Responses to IOU Balancing and Memorandum Account

SPD - Data Request 001 (ZIP)
SPD - Data Request 002 (ZIP)
SPD - Data Request 003 (ZIP)

Responses to GRC Depreciation Study Link
SPD - Data Request 004 (ZIP)

Responses to Undergrounding Capital Orders
SPD - Data Request 005 (ZIP)

Responses to Capital Accounting FAQ Documents
SPD - Data Request 006 (ZIP)

Responses to Revenue Requirements Follow-up Questions
SPD - Data Request 007 (ZIP)

Responses to Shared Poles Contracts/Lease Agreements
SPD - Data Request 008 (ZIP)

Responses to WMP Cost Reporting Template
SPD - Data Request 009 (ZIP)

Responses to Undergrounding Project Phases and Project Documents
SPD - Data Request 010 (ZIP)
SPD - Data Request 013 (ZIP)

Responses pertaining to PG&E's Mini-RO Models
SPD - Data Request 011 (ZIP)
SPD - Data Request 012 (ZIP)

Responses pertaining to External Funding
SPD - Data Request 014 (ZIP)

Contact us

Program contact information

For any questions related to undergrounding or installing strong poles and covered powerlines, email undergrounding@pge.com or call 1-877-265-1399. We will get back to you within 3-5 business days.

Photos of system upgrades work

PG&E crew member installing strong cross arms.

1 / 5

Vendor information

If you are a vendor interested in working with PG&E, email undergrounding@pge.com.

Services of interest may include, but are not limited to:

Electric construction services
Civil construction services
Engineering services
Engineering, procurement and construction services
Other relevant support services
Electric materials