PG&E falling behind on wildfire safety work

Bloomberg

PG&E Corp., the California utility giant that filed for bankruptcy in January, is falling behind on some deadlines for inspections, repairs and tree-clearing work designed to reduce wildfire risks in Northern California this year.
The state’s largest utility said circumstances beyond its control, such as a rainy winter and permitting requirements, were making it difficult to inspect some of its power transmission and distribution lines. As a result, some completion dates for fire-prevention work are being pushed back, the company told a federal judge who is supervising its criminal probation for safety lapses related to its gas pipelines.
PG&E is already facing intense scrutiny over its operations. The company filed for Chapter 11 to deal with an estimated $30 billion worth of
liabilities stemming from wildfires that its equipment was blamed for igniting. US District Judge William Alsup, saying the company needs “strong medicine” to cure a “clear-cut pattern” of starting wildfires, ordered the utility this month to comply with state laws requiring it to trim or remove trees and branches around power lines.
PG&E said in a court filing that some power-line repair work targeted to be done by May 31 and June 30 may be delayed and that costs for the safety program may rise. The utility wasn’t able to say by how much. The company also said fire-fighting helicopters that it’s waiting for will be delayed because of the federal government’s partial shutdown earlier in the year.
The utility is “working diligently to overcome these external challenges to avoid delays,” PG&E said in the filing.