PG&E officials said Friday that the utility has reached an $11 billion settlement with insurance companies to resolve claims resulting from 2017 and 2018 wildfires.
The tentative settlement represents about 85 percent of claims resulting from 2017 Northern California fires and the 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 86 people.
“Today’s settlement is another step in doing what’s right for the communities, businesses, and individuals affected by the devastating wildfires,” said Bill Johnson, CEO and President of PG&E Corp.
The agreement is PG&E’s second major settlement of wildfire claims. In June, PG&E and 18 local entities announced a settlement of claims relating to the 2015, 2017, and 2018 wildfires for a total of $1 billion.
The third group of claims are still pending in court.
On Monday, PG&E Monday filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plan in another effort to compensate wildfire victims.
The San Francisco-based company said the plan filed Monday would not raise or lower customers’ rates while compensating wildfire victims “fairly.”
PG&E is trying to reorganize before June 30, 2020, so the company can participate in the state’s newly established wildfire fund.
4 comments
This is not a settlement for PG&E, it’s a settlement for the ratepayers.
At 50 cents on the dollar for their losses! All while they ask for permission to give bonuses to the management.
Even though I am a capitalist and I am business friendly, I think public utilities have no business being private, for-profit companies.
Businesses have a moral, and possibly even a legal, obligation to create value for their shareholders. And the best way to increase shareholder value is to make a profit. So PG&E, being a publicly traded company, will do whatever it takes to make sure they’re in the black.
This has clearly manifested itself in high rates and deferred maintenance. The deferred maintenance is so bad, in fact, that many have lost their lives because of it. I am still young, but in my lifetime I have heard of three very deadly incidents that were the direct result of this deferred maintenance. San Bruno, Santa Rosa, and Paradise. I was actually in Santa Rosa the night the fire started, as I work for an agency in the area and I had to respond to secure some equipment. I was less than a block away from Coffey Park, and it was one of the scariest and most dangerous situations I’ve been in.
PG&E is out of control, and the damage they are doing to the ratepayers and residents of California is beyond measurable. They should be busted up into several, smaller government or non-profit private agencies, with some maintenance being put out to be bid on by contractors. That way, the ratepayers can get a good value for their money, and if a contractor isn’t performing efficiently or safely, we can fire them and get someone else.
Very well said Bob! At a minimum, they should be converted into a not for profit company. However, doing that would still keep them under the PUC, which is corrupt in its own sense when it comes to PG&E.
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