Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) has reached agreements to resolve the wildfire civil claims held by 10 local public entities, including cities and counties, affected by the 2019 Kincade Fire in Sonoma County and 2020 Zogg Fire in Shasta County. Under the agreements, a total of US$43.36 million in payments will be made to those entities.
"When I joined the PG&E earlier this year, I said that I wanted to make it right and make it safe for our customers and communities. We are pleased to have reached these resolutions, so that we can help our hometowns as they recover," said Patti Poppe, PG&E Corp. chief executive officer. "Local cities and counties are critical to the fabric of our lives, and today's resolution reflects our commitment to supporting them and all they are doing to rebuild after these two fires. We look forward to continuing to partner with these local entities as we work to strengthen our energy systems and deliver for our customers and communities."
The agreements with the public entities reflect a mutually agreed upon resolution of their claims against the PG&E for damages related to the wildfires following mediations between the parties. The following public entities are among the 2019 Kincade Fire plaintiffs:
- Sonoma County
- City of Cloverdale
- City of Healdsburg
- City of Santa Rosa
- Town of Windsor
- Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District
- Sonoma County Community Development Commission
- Sonoma County Water Agency
The following entities are among the 2020 Zogg Fire plaintiffs:
- Shasta County
- Tehama County
The PG&E is improving its wildfire safety efforts to make its system safer and more resilient for its customers and communities. Important work this year includes:
- Meeting and exceeding state vegetation standards across 1800 miles of power lines to manage nearby trees and other vegetation that could cause a wildfire or power outage.
- Continuing to upgrade the electric grid by hardening at least 180 miles of power lines to reduce wildfire risks.
- Installing 250 sectionalizing devices to narrow the scope of Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events so fewer customers are without power.
- Piloting new technologies that detect threats to the electric grid and rapidly reduce or shut off power, thus reducing the need for larger PSPS events.
- Employing new risk modeling to better prioritize the utility's wildfire safety prevention efforts and target work in the areas and communities at the highest risk.
For more information about how the PG&E is reducing wildfire risk throughout Northern and Central California, visit here.
