The plan outlined Tuesday, March 23, 2021, would add more power shut-offs near tall trees and would at least double the number of power outages in six Northern California counties.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup is overseeing PG&E’s safety precautions as part of the utility’s criminal probation after its natural gas lines blew up a suburban neighborhood south of San Francisco in 2010.
The number of outages would triple in Trinity County while doubling in Placer, Shasta, Tehama, Madera and Mendocino.
PG&E attorney Kevin Orsini assured Alsup the utility shares the judge’s goal of reducing wildfire risks posed by its power lines as the company pours billions of dollars into upgrading its equipment.
“It’s a Hobson’s choice, it’s a terrible choice that California is faced with," Alsup lamented.