PG&E agrees to $55M deal over California wildfires, escaping criminal prosecution
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. also agrees to five years of independent oversight, ending prosecution over Kincade and Dixie fires
FOX Business Flash top headlines for April 11
Here are your FOX Business Flash top headlines for April 11.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co., reached a $55 million deal with six California counties devastated by wildfire Monday, agreeing to five years of independent oversight.
The civil settlement, first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, also ended criminal investigations into the San Francisco-headquartered utility company in connection to the 2019 Kincade Fire and 2021’s Dixie Fire in the Sierra Nevada.
PG&E RELEASED NEW PLAN FOR 2022 FIRE SAFETY
Sonoma County prosecutors had accused PG&E of reckless conduct for keeping energy flowing through a high-powered transmission tower in a windy mountainous area prone to fire for more than a decade leading up to the Kincade Fire. The deal announced Monday also closed criminal investigations into PG&E’s operations in Butte, Lassen, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama counties after the company kept energy flowing for 10 hours after a tree fell onto powerlines near the Cresta Dam in the Feather River Canyon.
A PG&E tracks passes the line of the Dixie Fire near Taylorsville, California, U.S., August 10, 2021. REUTERS/David Swanson (REUTERS/David Swanson / Reuters Photos)
"Being found guilty of a crime carries limited value when you’re dealing with a multimillion-dollar corporation," Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch told the Chronicle. "What’s more important to us is there’s some level of accountability going forward – to ensure PG&E is doing everything it can to keep us safe."
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Cal Fire (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection) reported that PG&E power equipment sparked 31 wildfires that burned nearly 1. 5 million acres, destroyed nearly 24,000 structures and killed 113 Californians between 2017 and 2021.