California utility begins massive power line burying project

In an effort to stop sparking California wildfires, the nation's largest utility has started an ambitious project to bury 10,000 miles of power lines.

To prevent wildfires, PG&E says the undergrounding project will lead to fewer disruptive "Public Safety Power" shutoffs, which have become more frequent over the years with the growing risk of dry weather and high wind linked to climate change. Some critics of PG&E's plan say it's too expensive and will take too long.

The Utility Reform Network (TURN) says ratepayers will end up paying for the project through higher bills.TURN also questions whether PG&E will be able to continue the proper maintenance of its power lines while it focuses on the undergrounding project, which will take at least a decade to complete.PG&E says the undergrounding project currently costs 3.75 USD million a mile, but that price will go down to around 2.5 million USD a mile in the coming years as the project scales up.