PG&E to upgrade S.F. power grid energy Utility to spend $1.2 billion over 5 years to improve electricity lines, substations and natural gas pipes Pacific Gas and Electric Co. plans to spend $1.2 billion in the next five years upgrading the aging power lines, substations and natural gas pipes of San Francisco, where equipment failures have often embarrassed the utility in its hometown. The work, which will include snaking a new power line beneath part of the bay, will help meet growing electricity demand in the city, particularly in the booming South of Market neighborhood. Earley had been brought in to reform the company following the deadly 2010 explosion of a PG&E gas pipeline in San Bruno, and old infrastructure was very much on his mind. -- Building a new, 3.5-mile electric transmission line stretching from the foot of Potrero Hill to PG&E's Embarcadero substation in the South of Market neighborhood. Earley said the upgrades aren't a public relations ploy to improve the company's image among San Franciscans.