PG&E faces California money penalty for huge and destructive wildfire

PG&E is facing the prospect of a state penalty and fines in connection with a vast California wildfire.

OAKLAND — PG&E is facing the prospect of a state penalty and fines in connection with a huge and destructive wildfire that the utility caused in Northern California, regulators said Monday.

The state Public Utilities Commission is eyeing a $45 million penalty against PG&E due to the utility’s role in causing the Dixie Fire that scorched portions of five California counties in 2021.

The wildfire began on July 13, 2021, when a rotting tree fell onto a PG&E transmission line near State Route 70 and Cresta Dam in the Feather River Canyon, not far from the origin of the deadly 2018 Camp Fire.

The Dixie Fire roared through sections of Plumas, Butte, Lassen, Shasta, and Tehama counties before it was contained on Oct. 25, 2021. It destroyed more than 1,300 buildings and one firefighter was killed in the battle to contain and control the blaze. PG&E previously estimated its costs for the fire could reach $1.15 billion, which includes $637 million that went to firefighting efforts.

The PUC proposed a penalty with three components:

• $40 million penalty for capital expenditures to transition records to an electronic format.

• $2.5 million payment to California indigenous tribes affected by the blaze.

• $2.5 million fine paid into the state’s general treasury.

“We accept CAL FIRE’s finding that a tree falling into our powerline caused the fire. However, PG&E believes we acted as a prudent operator,” a PG&E spokesperson said in a comment emailed to this news organization. “There is no evidence that PG&E consciously and willfully disregarded a known risk with regard to the ignition of the Dixie Fire.”

The five-member state PUC is slated to consider the proposed settlement at a Nov. 16 voting meeting.

PUC staffers said PG&E customers won’t have to bear the cost of the penalty through higher monthly bills.

“PG&E would pay a $45 million shareholder-funded penalty” under the proposal issued on Monday by the PUC’s enforcement staff, the regulators stated.