Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Pacific Gas & Electric equipment may have sparked the Dixie Fire, which has grown to nearly 47 square miles in Northern California.
“Our equipment started that fire,” said the utility company’s CEO of the devastating 2018 Camp fire that burned down virtually the entire town of Paradise.
The utility company, which started the 2018 Camp Fire, recently agreed to the fine and to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
State Sen. Scott Wiener wants to make the electric utility publicly owned after its equipment caused deadly wildfires and created massive blackouts.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
The decision bolsters PG&E’s chances of following its preferred path for getting out of bankruptcy by a make-or-break June 30 deadline.
The money will help thousands of victims of wildfires blamed on the company's shoddy equipment.
A state probe concluded the company failed "for years" to properly inspect the transmission line that started California’s deadliest blaze, among other shortfalls.
The ruling is a victory for thousands of people who lost their homes and loved ones in the fires.
The utility shut off power as a preventive effort ― but such cuts can leave vulnerable groups who depend on electricity at risk.
Lawmakers wanted answers from Bill Johnson and executives from the state’s other two investor-owned utilities about the shutoffs last month.