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PG&E tells Tiburon council most outages are planned; CPUC sets undergrounding priorities
Summary
PG&E briefed the Tiburon Town Council on outage data, saying planned company‑initiated work accounts for most customer interruptions and that undergrounding decisions are prioritized and approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Councilmembers pressed for clearer local outage breakdowns and options to pursue funding.
PG&E representatives told the Tiburon Town Council that most outages experienced by town customers are company‑initiated, planned interruptions, while equipment failures and vegetation remain the main causes of unplanned outages. The presentation explained the town is fed by two primary circuits — from the Alto substation in Mill Valley and the Greenbrae substation — and outlined recent investments in monitoring equipment and vegetation management to speed restoration.
The PG&E representative said the utility identifies high‑priority projects based on wildfire‑risk rankings and then submits plans to the California Public Utilities Commission for approval. “We submit plans to the California Public Utilities Commission based on this prioritization of the highest risk fire areas,” the PG&E representative told the council, and added that the company is pursuing a longer‑range undergrounding plan in high fire‑risk areas.
Councilmembers pressed the presenter for clearer numbers and local detail. One council member asked whether the slides showing 57 sustained outages in 2025 meant 57 events of 120 minutes or longer and how many customers those events affected. The PG&E representative said the data team would further “slice and dice” the numbers and offered to meet with town staff and councilmembers to review circuit‑level performance and repeat outage locations.
Residents at the meeting raised the idea of locally funded undergrounding efforts and questioned whether towns could supplement PG&E or CPUC priorities. The PG&E representative acknowledged community investments and said the company is supportive of efforts to reduce outages but reiterated that undergrounding projects and certain funding allocations require CPUC review or legislative action.
Action and next steps: PG&E offered to meet with town staff and councilmembers and to provide more granular outage data on repeat‑affected customers, equipment location, and the split between company‑initiated and truly unplanned outages. The council and PG&E agreed to follow up with staff and the town manager to schedule a technical briefing with PG&E distribution engineers.
