This state ruling could hurt PG&E in fight over who pays in wine country fires
In a case with financial implications for the devastating October wine country wildfires, state regulators Thursday denied a Southern California utility’s efforts to charge ratepayers for costs related to a series of 2007 fires.
The Public Utilities Commission rejected San Diego Gas & Electric’s request to charge customers $379 million to cover a portion of the utility’s damage claims from the Witch, Guejito and Rice Fires. Cal Fire investigators said the fires, which killed two people and destroyed 1,300 homes, were caused in part by problems with power lines and other SDG&E equipment.
The SDG&E case was being closely watched for its potential impact on the claims that are piling up against against Pacific Gas and Electric Co. in the wine country disaster. Already a host of lawsuits have been filed against the utility, arguing that PG&E’s poorly-maintained power lines were to blame for the deadly October fires. Multiple clusters of fires killed 43, destroyed thousands of homes and caused billions of dollars of damage. The vast majority of the deaths and damage took place in Sonoma and Napa counties.
The San Diego decision “reinforces that if a utility did not reasonably operate its facilities prior to the fire, it can’t charge ratepayers,” said Elizabeth Echols, director of the PUC’s Office of Ratepayer Advocate.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article187429948.html
