Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has submitted a General Rate Case grant application to California regulators covering the years 2027 to 2030.
According to PG&E, the application seeks to stabilize customer bills while resuming operations at a lithium battery facility that was shut down following a major fire.
The company forecasted that if the application is approved, total residential gas and electricity bills in 2027 would remain flat compared to 2025 levels.
PG&E stated that the request includes its smallest percentage increase in a decade.
It attributed this to $2.5 billion in cost reductions from process and technology changes over the past three years.
PG&E’s submission outlines a number of planned infrastructure and safety investments.
The company explained that it plans to place 307 miles of powerlines underground by 2027 in high-risk areas, which it said could reduce fire risk by 98 percent.
Other proposed improvements include 760 miles of hardened overhead lines, 114 new weather stations, and expanded vegetation management.
The utility noted that it will modernize its electricity grid to accommodate demand from 3 million electric vehicles by 2030 and increase clean energy resilience through battery storage and microgrids.
It said that the overall aim is to support population growth, reduce fuel volatility, and meet extreme weather challenges without further increasing customer bills beyond 2027.
PG&E stated that customers may still experience variations in billing depending on their location, usage, and rate plans.
PG&E plans to restart operations at its Elkhorn Battery Energy Storage Facility by June 1, as reported by the LA Times.
The Elkhorn site, co-maintained with Tesla, shut down automatically in January during a fire at the adjacent Moss Landing facility operated by Vistra Corporation.
While Elkhorn itself did not catch fire, Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church said that PG&E had earlier signaled a later restart and criticized the company for moving ahead before investigations are complete.
Church wrote on Facebook: “Restarting operations before investigations are complete and before stronger emergency protocols are in place is disappointing and deeply troubling.”
According to the LA Times, the Board of Supervisors previously requested both the Vistra and PG&E sites remain closed until the causes of the January fire and an earlier 2022 Elkhorn fire were fully understood and addressed.
A PG&E letter sent to county officials in May stated that all 256 Tesla Megapacks at Elkhorn were disassembled and cleaned following the January incident.
It added that environmental monitoring had been completed and that summer grid demands required reactivation.
The January 16 fire at the Vistra facility burned around 54,000 battery modules and released toxic smoke, according to Vistra and the LA Times.
An internal investigation is ongoing, and the California Public Utilities Commission has also launched a review.
The Moss Landing site previously housed a gas plant operated by PG&E and now includes two battery storage facilities operated independently by PG&E and Vistra.
The Vistra fire reignited in February and burned for several hours.
It has led to lawsuits from local residents and calls for more robust emergency planning.
According to the LA Times, Monterey County officials are seeking stricter protocols based on catastrophic scenarios and want more transparency from PG&E regarding future emergency responses.
Environmental testing after the fire recorded elevated levels of battery metals in a nearby estuary.
PG&E submitted a grant application to California regulators for its 2027–2030 General Rate Case.
The company stated that the proposal includes the smallest percentage bill increase in ten years.
It forecasted that average residential bills will remain flat in 2027 compared to 2025.
PG&E reported it had reduced capital and operating costs by $2.5 billion.
The utility plans to invest in wildfire safety, clean energy, and electric grid modernization.
The Elkhorn battery site is scheduled to restart by June 1.
Monterey County officials have requested that operations remain paused until fire investigations are complete.
The January fire at the Vistra battery facility damaged 54,000 battery modules.
PG&E reported that all Tesla Megapacks at Elkhorn were inspected and cleaned.
Environmental tests after the fire showed elevated levels of metals in nearby soil.
The California Public Utilities Commission is conducting a separate investigation.
