utility News

Growing Group Seeks Local Takeover of PG&E

More than 110 Northern California city and county officials representing the majority of bankrupt PG&E Corp.’s customers are proposing to turn the utility giant into a customer-owned cooperative. The coalition led by the city of San Jose includes officials from …

California Faces Decade of ‘Unique’ Wildfire Blackouts

California utility PG&E Corp has imposed 10 intentional blackouts this year to reduce risks its power infrastructure could spark wildfires and said they will continue for a decade. PG&E initially said outages would happen only a couple of times a …

Winds Raise Fire Threat as Power Cuts Feared in California

Almost 32,000 customers could lose power Sunday as dry, gusty winds whip up critical wildfire conditions across almost 6,000 square miles in Southern California, with another 250,000 affected in the northern part of the state later in the week. The …

PG&E Is Offering $13.5 Billion in Compensation to Wildfire Victims

Bankrupt utility giant PG&E Corp. is trying to offer $13.5 billion in compensation to the victims of wildfires sparked by its power lines as part of a restructuring plan, according to people with knowledge of the situation. The company’s shares …

PG&E Faces Strict Probation Judge After Massive Kincade Fire

For the first time since a fire last month scorched 77,758 acres of northern California, PG&E Corp. returns to the courtroom of the judge whose personal crusade is to “reduce to zero” the number of wildfires caused by the utility’s …

As Paradise Rebuilds, a Divide Over Safety a Year After Fire

PARADISE, Calif. — There was “no way in hell” Victoria Sinclaire was rebuilding in Paradise. She’d thought she was going to die during the six hours it took her to escape the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. …

PG&E Sees Up to $6.3 Billion in Costs From Fires, Bankruptcy

PG&E Corp., the California, that went bankrupt in January after its equipment sparked deadly wildfires, expects as much as $6.3 billion in after-tax costs from the blazes, its Chapter 11 case and the recent blackouts. The troubled power giant reported …

Crews Make Progress on Large Southern California Wildfire

LOS ANGELES — Authorities lifted evacuation orders for a farm community Saturday as firefighters make progress on a large wildfire in Southern California that continues to threaten about 2,500 homes and buildings. Ventura County officials allowed an unknown number of …

Edison Report Ties Equipment to a Deadly Los Angeles Wildfire

California utility giant Edison International has sent state regulators a report on a deadly wildfire that broke out last week on the edge of Los Angeles, signaling that the company’s equipment may have been somehow involved in the blaze. Southern …

U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Dispute Over 2007 California Wildfire Payouts

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a bid by Sempra Energy’s San Diego Gas & Electric Co to recover $379 million from customers related to damages it was forced to pay out in litigation after the deadly …