PG&E pleads guilty to manslaughter: “Our equipment started the fire.”

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Search and rescue crews dig through the burnt remains of a business as they search for human remains on November 21, 2018 in Paradise, California. Fueled by high winds and low humidity, the Camp Fire ripped through the town of Paradise, charring over 150,000 acres.
Enlarge / Search and rescue crews dig through the burnt remains of a business as they search for human remains on November 21, 2018 in Paradise, California. Fueled by high winds and low humidity, the Camp Fire ripped through the town of Paradise, charring over 150,000 acres.

California utility firm Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges that it was responsible for the deaths of more than 80 people in a massive 2018 wildfire caused by its equipment.

The fire, known as the Camp Fire, began in November 2018 when two PG&E power lines came into contact with nearby dry brush, sparking flames. Eighty-five people died in the fire, which also destroyed 18,800 structures.

Months of investigation by state and federal authorities found that PG&E had for years failed to conduct maintenance on the power lines that failed, according to the report (PDF) published by the Butte County district attorney’s office. In March, the district attorney filed an indictment (PDF) charging PG&E with 85 felony counts: one for unlawfully causing a fire and 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter.

PG&E “had a legal duty to the public to avoid wildfires and failed to perform that legal duty by recklessly failing to maintain and operate its electrical lines and equipment in a manner that would minimize the risk of catastrophic wildfires posed by those electrical lines and equipment, resulting in the Camp Fire,” each of the 84 manslaughter counts reads.

Company president and CEO Bill Johnson entered the guilty plea in court yesterday on behalf of the company. “Our equipment started the fire that destroyed the towns of Paradise and Concow and severely burned Magalia and other parts of Butte County,” Johnson said. “On behalf of PG&E, I apologize for the pain we have caused.”

As part of its plea agreement, the company agreed to pay a $3.5 million dollar fine and an additional $500,000 to cover the costs of the investigation.

A federal judge on Tuesday approved the company’s $59 billion reorganization plan. That plan includes settlements with insurers and local governments as well as $13.5 billion in settlements to victims of wildfires for which PG&E was responsible. Half of the settlements to individuals, however, will be paid in company shares instead of cash, after which victims would own almost 21 percent of the company, That could expose survivors to future liability, The Wall Street Journal reports, if the company once again ends up facing criminal or regulatory penalties for failing to make good on safety commitments.

PG&E filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2019 as it faced an estimated $30 billion in wildfire-related liabilities—not only from the 2018 fires, but from many other large and small wildfires in preceding years as well. The California Public Utilities Commission in May imposed a $1.94 billion fine on PG&E (PDF) for its role in 2017 and 2018 wildfires. The CPUC also agreed to waive an additional $200 million fine PG&E was supposed to pay for neglecting its equipment, agreeing with the company that the penalty could threaten its bankruptcy filing plans.

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1684412