Pacific Gas & Electric
PG&E Cuts Outage Duration by Half
Major utility uses advanced risk modeling to transform PSPS decision-making
PG&E needed to significantly reduce wildfire risk while minimizing unnecessary power shutoffs that impact customers. The utility required better decision-making capabilities for Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) and needed data-driven methods to prioritize asset hardening investments across their vast service territory.
- Wildfire Impact Reduction: 2018-2020 baseline → 99% reduction in acres impacted in 2022
- Equipment-Related Ignitions: 2021 → 68% decrease in reportable ignitions on primary distribution conductors in 2022
- PSPS Outage Duration: 2021 → 56% reduction in average PSPS outage duration in 2022
Source: Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s Revised 2025 Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP) Update
Hear from the CEO of PG&E, Patti Poppe, as she explains to Bloomberg News how technology is helping PG&E combat wildfire risk through advanced modeling, strengthened situational awareness, and improved decision-making for asset hardening.
Our Solution
Technosylva’s platform advances PG&E’s risk modeling for fire severity and fire behavior characteristics while capturing valuable information on the potential consequences of ignition. The solution provides real-time wildfire risk forecasting for PSPS determination and enables sophisticated fire spread simulation across PG&E’s entire service territory.
What We Delivered:
- Real-time Fire Spread Modeling: 100+ million virtual fire simulations daily across PG&E’s territory with 3-hour forecasting intervals
- PSPS Decision Support: Risk-benefit analysis tool that quantifies public safety risk and wildfire consequences to optimize power shutoff decisions
- Asset Hardening Prioritization: Machine learning program to identify optimal locations for undergrounding power lines based on risk-benefit analysis
- Enhanced Fuel Data Management: Dynamic fuel model updates accounting for burn scars, vegetation regrowth, and seasonal changes
- On-Demand Fire Simulation: Wildfire Analyst Enterprise platform for real-time fire modeling as incidents develop
PG&E Using Technosylva for Asset Hardening
Learn how PG&E is meeting and exceeding its goal for undergrounding lines at risk to wildfire.
Client Impact
“Deciding where undergrounding is prioritized is done through a machine learning program by Technosylva that helps identify areas that will have the most risk-benefit by putting the lines underground.” — Joe Wilson, Regional Vice President, PG&E
Timeline: Ongoing partnership with continuous platform enhancements