PG&E is reportedly going above and beyond regulatory requirements in order to prevent California wildfires.

After PG&E was convicted in 2016 of causing a gas pipeline blast that killed 8 people, the court appointed a monitor to oversee the company’s probation and to comb through their wildfire prevention efforts. Court appointed monitor Mark Filip reportedly concluded that PG&E has failed to property manage vegetation and trees which could contribute to California active wildfires.

A lawyer for the utility company recently acknowledged this criticism while also assuring the federal court that they were cutting down vegetation and trees within a 12 foot radius of power lines. This plan reportedly meets even the most aggressive wildfire prevention requirements.

Unfortunately, these aggressive safety requirements have reportedly caused confusion among contractors – causing some dangerous trees to remain standing.

“The contractors who were going out there were missing healthy trees that we were saying nonetheless need to come down,” a company lawyer told U.S. District Judge William Alsup in explanation according to Insurance Journal. “It’s not common practice to go out there and cut down healthy trees.”

Although the judge raised concerns that some dangerous trees haven’t been cut down, the company attorney said that PG&E “absolutely expects” to compensate for this by cutting power to consumers if windy conditions warrant the measure.

In fact, on Sept 23, the company shut of power to thousands of customers in Northern California due to windy weather and a red flag wildfire risk. According to KCRA, affected counties reportedly include Butte, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sutter, Yuba, Lake, Napa, and Sonoma counties.

The utility company will reportedly be taking further efforts to property train their contractors and provide clear instructions to avoid confusion.

Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. has faced scrutiny and legal action due to its role in California active wildfires over the past few years. 2017 wildfires in Northern California wine country and the massive Camp Fire in 2018 can reportedly be traced back to the utility company. Amidst mounting criticism and pending liability, the company declared bankruptcy in January 2019.

More recently, PG&E agreed to pay $11 billion to resolve insurance claims caused by the 2017 and 2018 fires. Originally, insurance companies requested around $20 billion to cover California wildfire insurance claims but has agreed to the settlement.

According to NPR, the insurance companies released a statement saying that “we hope that this compromise will pave the way for a plan of reorganization that allows PG&E to fairly compensate all victims and emerge from Chapter 11 by the June 2020 legislative deadline.”

Earlier in the summer, the company also agreed to pay $1 billion to agencies and local governments affected by the 2015 Butte Fire, the 2017 North Bay Fires, and the 2018 Camp Fire. Of this amount, Butte County and the town of Paradise, which was completely destroyed by the Camp Fire, will receive over $500 million.

The PG&E Wildfire Risk Lawsuit is Case No. 14-cr-00175, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.