California has basically ruled out longer-term natural gas use as an option for back-up power at utility substations during planned outages, but San Francisco-based Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) still plans to rely on the fossil fuel when necessary.

California wildfires

A virtual workshop held Tuesday by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and California Energy Commission (CEC) provided an overview of alternatives to diesel generation to back up generation when public safety power shutoffs are required.

PG&E executives also described wildfire mitigation plans as a series of new fires burned across the state. PG&E’s Jason Regan, director of electric transmission and emergency management, said the utility has identified the most recent peak loads on each of its nearly 1,000...