SDG&E says CPUC rate-case reduced near-term undergrounding; long-term undergrounding remains strategy

San Diego Gas & Electric told the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety on a public presentation that a December 2024 general rate case decision reduced the company’s near-term funding for wildfire hardening, forcing SDG&E to scale back planned undergrounding and other programs.

“What was our authorized dollars for mitigation, was lower than what we asked for from the CPC decision. And so we have had to adjust our programs, namely these programs that, I wanted to highlight here, besides others is the strategic undergrounding, because of the authorized dollars is 0 miles for the next 2 years, 26 and '27, and then picking up again in 2028 with 50 miles,” SDG&E wildfire mitigation director Jonathan Waldemariam said during the presentation.

The change follows SDG&E’s earlier proposals in its Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP). SDG&E told regulators that it continues to regard strategic undergrounding as the most durable mitigation in many high-risk locations, but that the company…