utility wildfire liability News

Hawaii Electric Takes Responsibility for First Fire on Maui, But Faults Firefighters

Hawaii’s electric utility acknowledged its power lines started a wildfire on Maui but faulted county firefighters for declaring the blaze contained and leaving the scene, only to have a second wildfire break out nearby and become the deadliest in the …

Maui Fire Victims Pursue Legal Tactic That Led to $13.5 Billion California Settlement

Hawaii property owners are seizing on a legal shortcut used by fire victims in California to secure compensation from Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. for damages following the fires that ravaged Maui. The strategy, which doesn’t require proving negligence, helped push …

Hawaiian Electric Faces Scrutiny, Lawsuits Over Deadly Maui Wildfire

Hawaiian Electric Industries’ shares plunged nearly 40% to a 13-year low in early trading on Monday amid growing scrutiny over whether the utility company’s equipment played any role in the deadly wildfires that burnt through the coastal Maui town of …

PG&E Faces Lawsuits, Coverage Questions After More California Wildfires

Homeowners living in Paradise, Calif., are just now returning home after a devastating wildfire caused up to $10 billion in damage, according to RMS estimates. The Woolsey Fire, which overlapped the Camp Fire, has a damage price tag of about …

Utility Requested Rate Hike Last Month Over California Fires

A utility facing severe financial pressure amid speculation its equipment may have sparked a deadly Northern California wildfire asked U.S. energy regulators last month for permission to raise its customers’ monthly bills to harden its system against wildfires and deliver …

California Woman Got Email From Utility About Issue a Day Before Fire

A day before a deadly blaze destroyed a California town, the giant utility Pacific Gas & Electric Co. got in touch with Betsy Ann Cowley, saying the company needed access to her property because its power lines were causing sparks. …

In a Proactive Move, PG&E Cuts Power to 60,000 to Prevent Wildfires

PG&E Corp. deliberately left customers in the dark for the first time as a precaution to prevent wildfires from breaking out. Almost 60,000 customers in six counties across the Sierra Nevada foothills and Northern California wine country were blacked out …

California Lawmakers Consider Plan to Alter Utility Liability for Wildfires

California lawmakers raised concerns Thursday that a proposal from Gov. Jerry Brown to shield electrical utilities from some financial liability for wildfires might give them too much protection without ensuring the utilities safely maintain their equipment. The issue of wildfire …