Judge proposes ordering PG&E to shut off power for wildfires

A U.S. judge in San Francisco is considering ordering Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to re-inspect its entire electric grid and cut off power during certain wind conditions to prevent wildfires.

Judge William Alsup proposed the requirements in a court order late Wednesday. He said his goal was to prevent the utility from causing any wildfires in the 2019 fire season.

PG&E said it was reviewing Alsup’s order.

Alsup is overseeing a criminal sentence against PG&E stemming from a deadly explosion of one of the utility’s gas lines in 2010. He has asked PG&E whether any requirements of the sentence might be implicated if its equipment ignited a wildfire.

He also asked the utility to explain any role it may have played in a massive wildfire in November.