PG&E Reaches $100M Settlement Tied to Deadly Northern California Fires
The parent company of Pacific Gas and Electric has agreed to pay $100 million to settle a lawsuit brought by shareholders who claimed they were misled about the utility’s wildfire prevention efforts ahead of some of Northern California’s deadliest fires.
The preliminary settlement was filed Saturday in U.S. District Court and still requires a judge’s approval. The lawsuit argued that PG&E downplayed serious problems with its electrical equipment and vegetation management practices before major wildfires in 2017 and 2018.
Shareholders leading the case said those safety failures contributed to catastrophic fires, including the Tubbs Fire in the North Bay and the Camp Fire in Butte County. The Tubbs Fire killed 22 people and destroyed more than 5,600 structures, wiping out roughly five percent of the homes in Santa Rosa. The Camp Fire killed 85 people and destroyed most of Paradise, leveling more than 18,800 structures.
PG&E denied any wrongdoing as part of the settlement, according to court filings.
The shareholder case had been paused after PG&E filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2019. That filing followed mounting wildfire liabilities. In December 2019, the utility reached a separate $13.5 billion settlement with wildfire victims and later emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2020.
