California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday directed the two utilities serving the communities devastated by the Los Angeles fires to prioritize burying their power lines as they rebuild.
What happened: Newsom, a Democrat, wrote to Edison International President Pedro Pizarro as well as to Los Angeles Department of Water and Power CEO Janisse Quiñones and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass asking them to underground new electric distribution equipment in the areas affected by the Los Angeles fires.
“It is critical this plan incorporates the undergrounding of new electric distribution equipment to the extent feasible and should also consider how this work can be done most cost-effectively and quickly,” Newsom wrote of Southern California Edison’s plan to reconnect customers in Malibu and Altadena.
Why it matters: Undergrounding power lines is viewed as the best way to prevent utility-sparked wildfires like the Woolsey Fire, the Zogg Fire and the Thomas Fire that have devastated communities and damaged utilities’ bottom lines in recent years, driving Pacific Gas & Electric into bankruptcy in 2019 after the Camp Fire.