Sonoma County District Attorney Announces Results of First Annual Report From PG&E Independent Monitor

 PG&E Final Judgment Document      PG&E Annual Compliance Report

Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez announced today that the Independent Monitor held its annual meeting yesterday, and released its First Annual Report, related to its oversight of the Pacific Gas & Electric Company (“PG&E”). The Independent Monitor, Filsinger Energy Partners, was appointed last April to monitor PG&E’s compliance with various safety measures imposed upon the company by a Stipulated Judgment between the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office and PG&E, and ordered by Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Patrick Broderick on April 8, 2022, related to the 2019 Kincade Fire.

District Attorney Rodriguez stated, “I am proud of my Office’s work to hold PG&E accountable for the Kincade Fire and to protect our community. That work is continued by the efforts of the Independent Monitor, who is carefully reviewing PG&E’s safety compliance in Sonoma County. I commend PG&E for their efforts thus far to remedy any deficiencies discovered by the Monitor and am looking forward to continued progress and cooperation going forward.”

The Kincade Fire was ignited by a failure on a PG&E transmission tower on October 23, 2019, located in the Geysers, a geothermal field in northern Sonoma County. The fire burned for 15 days, destroying more than 77,000 acres and hundreds of homes and structures. The fire also prompted the largest evacuation in Sonoma County history of almost 200,000 residents.

The Monitor will conduct oversight of PG&E for a period of five years, which commenced on April 11, 2022. The Monitor has complete access to all PG&E materials and inspection reports in Sonoma County. The Monitor reports regularly to the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office regarding their observations. Any deficiencies reported by the Monitor may result in civil penalties or criminal prosecution if not promptly redressed by PG&E. The cost of the Monitor is borne solely by PG&E and may not be passed to ratepayers.

During the annual meeting, the Monitor reported to both the District Attorney’s Office and PG&E regarding its findings during the first year of supervision. These findings are detailed in the Monitor’s First Annual Compliance Report. During the first year, the Monitor reviewed PG&E inspection reports and conducted independent field inspections to review Transmission and Distribution assets and identify potential vegetation management issues. The findings included:

• 72 PG&E Transmission Line assets reviewed by the Monitor were all found to be compliant and without any issue.
• 1231 Distribution Assets across the county and observed 14 deficiencies. All deficiencies have either been remediated by PG&E or are on track to be resolved by the end of the year.
• 206 miles of PG&E’s circuits to verify PG&E’s compliance with vegetation management regulations. Across these 206 miles, the Monitor team observed 50 deficiencies, that included hazardous trees and issues related to radial clearance. 49 of these deficiencies have been cured by PG&E and the remaining one is scheduled to be addressed by the end of September.

In addition to being supervised by the Independent Monitor, the Stipulated Judgment against PG&E imposed additional financial and performance obligations, including:

• PG&E has provided funding to the following local nonprofit organizations that have served members of the community impacted by wildfires: Conservation Corps North Bay, Nuestra Communidad, Council on Aging, Interfaith Shelter Network, Boys and Girls Club of Sonoma-Marin, Jameson Humane, Petaluma Health Center, West County Health Centers, Jewish Community Free Clinic, Alexander Valley Health Care, Sonoma Valley Community Health Center, and Fire Safe Sonoma.
• PG&E entered an MOU with the Santa Rosa Junior College to develop its curriculum and programs for Fire Safety and Vegetation Management. This has enabled the SRJC to offer for the first time the Utility Line Clearance Arboriculture Training Program, which is currently in progress.
• PG&E committed to creating and posting 100 new job positions headquartered in or serving Sonoma County. To date, PG&E has filled 11 of those positions and is on track to exceed this required commitment.