PG&E did request to be able to clear brush up to 15 feet away from the power lines which I believe Gov. Newsom granted a CEQA exemption to them to do[1]. Prior

PG&E did request to be able to clear brush up to 15 feet away from the power lines which I believe Gov. Newsom granted a CEQA exemption to them to do[1]. Prior to that, they were only allowed to clear four feet.[2] That doesn't change the broken equipment but some of the blame can be placed on environmental regulations that cause this. What I am not sure of is whether environmental regulatory approval decreases funding and/or increases costs/time of repairing power lines. The power line upgrades do have to be reviewed and approved by environmental regulators. Here is an example[3]. [1]: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/california-tests-new-strategies-to-prevent-deadly-wildfires/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/california-tests-... [2]: https://www.sierraclub.org/california/cnrcc/pge-clearcuts-power-lines https://www.sierraclub.org/california/cnrcc/pge-clearcuts-po... [3]: https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/Environment/Info/mha/cabrillosantaynez/CabrilloSantaYnez.htm https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/Environment/Info/mha/cabrillosantayn...