The California Public Utilities Commission is receiving public comments on a proposed settlement agreement with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. that would penalize the utility $22 million for the 2022 Mosquito Fire in Placer County.
The Mosquito Fire burned more than 75,000 acres and dozens of structures. A subsequent CPUC investigation of PG&E’s infrastructure found violations of state rules for the design, construction and maintenance of overhead electrical lines.
“The proposed settlement penalizes PG&E and requires them to conduct a detailed review of its Centralized Inspection Review Team’s program at shareholder expense,” the CPUC said in a statement Friday announcing the proposed settlement.
Under the agreement — formally known as an administrative consent order — the utility would pay a penalty of $21 million in shareholder funds to the state’s general fund and $1 million for an independent expert third-party review of the utility’s transmission inspection operations.
The settlement is scheduled to be voted on at the commission’s Aug. 13 meeting.
The costs of wildfires have weighed heavily on the utility’s finances, according to regulatory filings.
“The financial impact of past wildfires is significant,” PG&E said in its last quarterly filing. That included aggregate liability estimates of $1.3 billion for the 2019 Kincade fire, $2.2 billion for the 2021 Dixie fire and $400 million for the Mosquito fire.
“These estimates do not include all categories of potential damages and losses,” the filing added.
PG&E executives are scheduled to discuss the company’s second quarter results on a July 23 investor call.
