Judge hits PG&E on inspections, trees
Judge’s order designed to prevent more deadly wildfires
The federal judge overseeing the utility’s probation stemming from the 2010 San Bruno blast is making the company revamp its system for inspecting highvoltage power lines, improve record keeping and manage its tree trimming better.
A federal judge is forcing Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to overhaul the way it inspects highvoltage power lines, improve record keeping in its electrical system and bolster its treetrimming practices to prevent more deadly wildfires.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup on Wednesday ordered PG&E to design a new system for conducting inspections of heavyduty transmission lines and keep detailed records about their age. PG&E must also hire enough of its own power line inspectors to manage the work of contractors who trim trees around lowervoltage distribution lines, Alsup said.
PG&E shall further require that contractors hired to inspect its transmission towers carry enough insurance to “cover losses suffered by the public should their inspections be deficient and thereby start a wildfire,” Alsup said.
Alsup cited PG&E’s role in wildfires that have killed more than 100 people and destroyed more than 20,000 structures in recent years. He said the company “cannot safely deliver power to California.”
“This failure is upon us because for years, in order to enlarge dividends, bonuses, and political contributions, PG&E cheated on maintenance of its grid — to the point that the grid became unsafe to operate during our annual high winds, so unsafe that the grid itself failed and ignited many catastrophic wildfires,” Alsup said in his order.
Alsup imposed the new requirements as an expansion of the company’s probation
terms arising from the 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline explosion. He is overseeing the probation, which is set to conclude in January 2022.
By May 28, PG&E has to submit plans to Alsup’s court detailing how it will execute some of the trickiest requirements he ordered. The judge said PG&E should confer with state regulators, and he intends to be “flexible” in approving any measures that “achieve the essence” of his order.
His order seeks to address two distinct ways in which PG&E equipment caused catastrophic fires in recent years: trees or limbs that fell on distribution lines and aging transmission equipment that broke in the wind and set off sparks.
Transmission lines carry power at high voltages to substations, and they are typically supported by tall metal towers. Distribution lines operate at lower voltages and deliver electricity directly to customers, often through a system of shorter wooden poles.
The judge’s order came about one month after PG&E said it would plead guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of unlawfully causing a fire over the 2018 Camp Fire, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. PG&E is scheduled to be arraigned in a Butte County court next month.
The company and its parent PG&E Corp. are currently in bankruptcy protection because of their role in wildfires in 2015, 2017 and 2018. Fire victims are in the process of voting on PG&E’s plan to resolve the bankruptcy case, which would pay them an estimated $13.5 billion settlement.
PG&E leaders are “aware of (Alsup’s) order and are currently reviewing” it, spokesman James Noonan said in an email.
“We share the court’s focus on safety and recognize that we must take a leading role in working to prevent catastrophic wildfires,” he said. “We remain focused on preparing for the wildfire season ahead, while continuing to deliver safe, clean and reliable energy to our customers.”
In his order, Alsup first addressed the PG&E distribution system, which was implicated in the 2017 Wine Country wildfires as windstorms sent tree parts crashing into lowervoltage power lines.
His order requires PG&E to directly employ inspectors that will perform two functions: flagging trees and limbs that need to be cut and spotchecking the work of contractors to make sure they did not miss anything.
Alsup then took aim at PG&E’s transmission system, which has suffered from different problems. Most notably, the Camp Fire started after a worn hook broke on an old PG&E transmission tower in Butte County, causing a live power line to collide into the structure and send sparks flying into the grass below.
“Like a broken record, PG&E routinely excuses itself by insisting that all towers had been inspected and any noted faults were addressed, at least according to its paperwork,” he said. “But these transmission tower inspections failed to spot dangerous conditions.”
Alsup said PG&E’s current transmission inspection procedures do not adequately assess wear on hooks like the one responsible for the Camp Fire, meaning another one “could break at any moment.” So he ordered the company to record the date of installation for each piece of equipment on all of its transmission towers and lines. If PG&E can’t determine the exact age of a part, it must record an estimate, he said.
PG&E’s new transmission inspection system must include forms that have enough detail to “track what inspectors actually do, such as whether they touch or tug on equipment,” Alsup said. The company needs to record every inspection on video.
The judge addressed PG&E’s controversial forced power outages to prevent fires as well. He described them as “a lesser evil” to prevent fires for now but stressed that the company should keep the safe parts of its grid turned on as it strengthens the electrical system over time.