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State audit: thousands of miles of bare lines and gaps in oversight leave California utilities vulnerable to wildfire risk
Summary
California State Auditor staff told San Francisco LAFCO the March 2022 audit found tens of thousands of miles of bare distribution lines in high-fire-threat areas, frequent power shutoffs impacting millions, and weaknesses in CPUC and Energy Safety Office oversight; the auditors recommended legislative fixes for audits, penalties, and certification requirements.
State Auditor staff summarized the March 2022 electrical system safety audit to San Francisco’s Local Agency Formation Commission, telling commissioners that investor-owned utilities have extensive exposure in high-fire-threat areas and that current oversight falls short.
Project manager Jonathan Klein said the audit identified three central concerns: at least 40,000 miles of bare distribution lines in areas at greater wildfire threat; 67 public safety power shutoffs from 2013 through 2021 affecting more than 3,600,000 customers with an average outage of 37 hours; and oversight processes that do not hold utilities sufficiently accountable.…
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