System Inspections Program

The updated System Inspections Program incorporates fire risk considerations and inspection methodologies developed through the 2019 Wildfire Safety Inspection Program into PG&E’s regular maintenance and repair program to promote general safety and reliability throughout our service territory. The Wildfire Safety Inspection Program was a one-time program that established a baseline to evaluate and fix assets specifically to further reduce wildfire risk ahead of the 2019 wildfire season. Our ongoing System Inspections Program continues to build on that foundation and further reduce wildfire risk.

Our crews inspect and take high-definition photographs of electric infrastructure. For distribution structures, this is done through ground inspections. For transmission structures, this is done via ground or climbing inspections or, in some cases, via helicopter or drone inspections.

We are prioritizing this safety work in areas of extreme (Tier 3) and elevated (Tier 2) wildfire risk as defined by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) High Fire-Threat District Map. Continuing in 2020, we are accelerating our inspection cycles beyond compliance regulations to align with wildfire risk. Electric infrastructure in Tier 3 and Tier 2 areas will be evaluated more frequently, while infrastructure in non-high fire-threat areas will be inspected at least every six years.

In 2020, we plan to inspect more than 15,000 miles of electric lines. We will inspect all lines in Tier 3 areas and one-third of all lines in Tier 2 areas. We are also planning to inspect additional line miles in non-high fire-threat areas.

In cases of electric structures located on private property, PG&E will attempt to contact property owners before planned work begins. Customers are notified in writing of the potential for crews on their property, as well as the possibility of aerial patrols in the vicinity.

PG&E uses inspection results to prioritize and manage equipment repair needs. All of the highest-priority conditions found through inspections will be promptly repaired or made safe. Repairs for all other conditions will be scheduled for completion as part of our routine work execution plan.

There may be some cases where we need to de-energize an electric line to ensure the safety of our crews while performing a repair. If we do need to temporarily turn off power to a line to safely complete the work, we aim to notify customers with as much advance warning as possible, through a letter, automated phone call, text message or door hanger.

Anyone with questions about this work is encouraged to email us at wildfiresafety@pge.com.

In 2019, PG&E completed its Wildfire Safety Inspection Program. The initiative was an accelerated safety inspection program designed to further reduce wildfire risk by evaluating every PG&E asset in areas of extreme (Tier 3) and elevated (Tier 2) wildfire risk as defined by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) High Fire-Threat District Map.

Through the program, PG&E conducted ground, climbing and/or aerial inspections of nearly 50,000 transmission structures, 700,000 distribution poles and 222 substations, along more than 5,500 miles of transmission line and 25,000 miles of distribution line. All of the highest-priority conditions found through the 2019 inspections have been repaired or made safe. Repairs for all other conditions are scheduled for completion as part of PG&E’s routine work execution plan.

PG&E also launched new technology initiatives through the Wildfire Safety Inspection Program such as drone inspections and centralized review of high-resolution photos of assets—innovations that we have incorporated into our updated and ongoing System Inspections Program.

The final results of our accelerated and enhanced inspections and high-priority repairs are available for download at the following links:

• Download a county-by-county breakdown of inspections and repairs (PDF, 250 KB)
• Download a more detailed breakdown of the repairs, including descriptions of the conditions (XLSX, 1.4 MB)

We have made the final results of our accelerated and enhanced inspections and high-priority repairs publicly available. Customers can filter this information by city and county, as well as view the geocoordinates of the structures with high-priority repairs.

We prioritized repairs using a tag categorization system that was based on the potential safety impact of the identified condition, with "A" tags being the highest priority.

We used the following categories for high-priority conditions:

• "A" conditions were those that required immediate action. All "A" tags have been repaired, made safe or are being actively worked on.
• "B" conditions were those that generally needed to be addressed within three months from the date a condition was identified.

Inspection findings were documented, particularly through high-resolution images, and reviewed by dedicated teams with experience in system maintenance, engineering and maintenance planning to evaluate identified conditions. This process included reviewing millions of high-definition photographs taken from the ground, qualified personnel climbing towers, drones and helicopters. Photographs were evaluated by experts who rated the severity of the condition found, assigned a priority level and began the process of dispatching corrective notifications for repair. Throughout the inspection process, we addressed and repaired conditions that posed an immediate safety risk, while completing other high-priority repairs on an accelerated basis. Repairs for other conditions are scheduled for completion as part of our work execution plan.