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PG&E Responds to California Public Utilities Commission's Draft Resolution to Implement Enhanced Regulatory Oversight


Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today issued the following statement in response to a draft resolution released by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC):

Today, the CPUC issued a draft resolution proposing to place PG&E into step one of the Enhanced Oversight and Enforcement program established last year in its approval of our Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization. The CPUC cited shortcomings in our 2020 Enhanced Vegetation Management, which is part of our comprehensive Community Wildfire Safety Program. The first step directs us to submit a corrective action plan and progress reports to the CPUC.

The findings received today are consistent with concerns raised in prior reports from the CPUC and our Federal Monitor about our Enhanced Vegetation Management program. We continue to take this feedback seriously. We have already implemented improvements to this program and will continue to do so as outlined in our 2021 Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP).

We will promptly prepare the corrective action plan to address the issues in the draft resolution, with clear timelines and commitments. We are committed to this critical work, and we welcome continued feedback and oversight from the CPUC and other stakeholders as we continue to learn, adapt and strengthen our system for the long term.

PG&E shares the CPUC's focus on safety and recognizes that we must take a leading role in reducing the risk of wildfires throughout our service area. We understand that the most important responsibility that we have as a company and as individuals is to keep our customers, communities and our workforce safe. That is our focus every day, we know we have more to do, and we are committed to doing it the right way.

Enhancements Already in Progress That Address Issues Identified by CPUC

We will continue to meet with the CPUC's Wildfire Safety Division on a consistent basis to provide updates on our progress in vegetation management improvements, as we have done since last fall.

Since receiving feedback last fall from the CPUC and our Federal Monitor regarding our Enhanced Vegetation Management program, we took immediate action to improve. Those improvements?many of which we believe address the issues raised in today's draft resolution from the Commission?are reflected in our 2021 WMP.

For example, we have already implemented the following:

In addition, we are working to implement the following:

Enhanced Vegetation Management Program Underway Since 2019

Through our Enhanced Vegetation Management program, we inspect all of our approximately 100,000 miles of overhead electric assets at least annually to identify and clear vegetation that might grow or fall into utility equipment. Our enhanced program inspected and trimmed or removed vegetation on or near more than 4,300 line-miles of distribution lines within HFTDs between 2019 and 2020. In 2021, PG&E will conduct enhanced vegetation management on at least another 1,800 miles of distribution lines as part of our ongoing and multi-year effort to reduce the risk of vegetation contacting our powerlines in our highest risk areas.

Enhanced Oversight and Enforcement Process

The CPUC established this regulatory process as part of its approval of PG&E's Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization. This framework was designed to help ensure that we meet our safety and operational commitments, and to help us correct any issues promptly if they arise. It includes six escalating steps, triggered by specific events, and provides that if PG&E takes appropriate corrective action, the CPUC will move PG&E to a lower step or out of the process.

PG&E will respond to the CPUC's draft resolution within 20 days. The Commission will then vote on the resolution.

We welcome the CPUC's oversight and expertise as we work collectively to protect our customers, communities, and state from wildfire threats and climate change.

PG&E's Safety Certification

As noted by the CPUC, the Enhanced Oversight and Enforcement process does not affect PG&E's receipt of a Safety Certification, which the CPUC's Wildfire Safety Division issued on January 14, 2021. Separately today, the CPUC issued a resolution that would ratify the Safety Certification, if approved at the CPUC's April 15 meeting.

About PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than 16 million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com and www.pge.com/news.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the beliefs, expectations, estimates, future plans and strategies of PG&E, including but not limited to statements regarding the enhanced oversight and enforcement process, the 2021 WMP, vegetation management work verification, and lean operating system. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions, which management believes are reasonable, and on information currently available to management, but are necessarily subject to various risks and uncertainties. In addition to the risk that these assumptions prove to be inaccurate, factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements include factors disclosed in PG&E Corporation's and PG&E's joint annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, and other reports filed with the SEC, which are available on PG&E Corporation's website at www.pgecorp.com and on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. PG&E Corporation and PG&E undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether due to new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by law.


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