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Utility to Pay $2B Settlement in Deadly 2018 California Fire
Southern California Edison will pay $2.2 billion to settle insurance claims from a deadly, destructive wildfire sparked by its equipment in 2018.
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Tech Aims to Predict Problems on Power Lines Before Disaster
B. Don Russell wasn’t thinking about preventing a wildfire when he developed a tool to detect power line problems before they cause equipment failures, blackouts or even deadly accidents.
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PG&E Boss Says It Wasn't Fully Ready for California Outages
The CEO of the nation’s largest utility is expected to face angry California lawmakers on Monday over the company’s decision to turn off power for millions of people to prevent its outdated equipment from starting wildfires.
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California Regulators Order Inquiry Into Power Outages
California regulators opened a formal investigation Wednesday into pre-emptive power outages that blacked out large parts of the state in October, drawing strong rebukes from public officials and residents who said the shut-offs were too broad and poorly executed.
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Blackout Round 2? Californians Brace for Possible Outages
Hundreds of thousands of California residents braced for another possible power outage as the state’s two largest utilities warned that a return of dangerous fire weather could prompt shut-offs across the state.
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Blackouts Possible Again as Fire Danger Looms in California
Less than two weeks after blacking out much of Northern California, the state’s largest utility is warning that dangerous fire weather could prompt it to shut off power to over 200,000 customers.
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Outages to Deter Wildfires Burden Rural California Counties
When California’s largest utility warned it would cut power to thousands to prevent its equipment from starting wildfires during warm, windy weather, officials in the wealthy wine region of Sonoma County sprang into action.
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California Approves Power Outages to Prevent More Wildfires
California regulators on Thursday approved allowing utilities to cut off electricity to possibly hundreds of thousands of customers to avoid catastrophic wildfires like the one sparked by power lines last year that killed 85 people and largely destroyed the city of Paradise.
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CPUC Approves PG&E's Wildfire Mitigation Plan
The California Public Utilities Commission at a meeting in San Francisco Thursday approved PG&E Co.’s 2019 wildfire mitigation plan. Sam Brock reports.
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Newsom Weighs Wildfire Liability Law, But No Commitment
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday that lawmakers should consider changing California’s strict law that makes utilities pay for wildfire damage caused by their equipment, regardless of fault, a controversial proposal that has failed to gain traction in the past.
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California Fire Report Provides Lists of Ideas, But No Commitment
A team of government and outside experts gave suggestions on preventing wildfires but failed to take positions on possible solutions and left lawmakers to decide how to proceed. Laura Sambol reports.
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California Commission's Task: Who Should Pay for Wildfires?
A state commission met for the first time Monday, tasked with answering the difficult question: Who should pay for California’s increasingly devastating and costly wildfires?
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Critics Ask What Took PG&E So Long on Wildfire Safety Effort
Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. is promising to spend more than $2 billion this year to improve wildfire prevention after its equipment was blamed for causing more than 1,500 Northern California wildfires since 2014.
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Pacific Gas & Electric Vows to Improve Wildfire Prevention
Up to 5 million California customers could temporarily lose power this year in the name of wildfire prevention if regulators approve Pacific Gas & Electric’s $2.3 billion safety proposal submitted Wednesday.
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Women Sue Southern California Edison Over Woolsey Fire Home Losses
Two women who lost their homes in the Woolsey Fire sued Southern California Edison Friday, alleging serious problems exist with the effectiveness of the utility’s risk-management practices and that it mismanages its electrical facilities during fire conditions in Southern California.
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California Utilities Taking Steps to Combat Destructive Wildfires
California utilities plan to insulate power lines, increase inspections and build new weather stations in areas at high risk for wildfires in an effort to combat increasingly destructive blazes.
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CA Utilities Taking Steps to Combat Destructive Wildfires
California utilities plan to insulate power lines, increase inspections and build new weather stations in areas at high risk for wildfires in an effort to combat increasingly destructive blazes.
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New Law Allows Utilities to Bill Customers to Pay for Settlements in 2017 Wildfires
Gov. Jerry Brown signed a measure Friday allowing utilities to bill their customers to pay for future legal settlements stemming from devastating 2017 wildfires, even if the blazes are blamed on the company’s mismanagement.
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California Approves Measure Allowing Utilities to Pass on Wildfire Costs to Consumers
The California Legislature voted Friday to allow power companies to raise electric bills to cover the cost of lawsuits from last year’s deadly wildfires amid fears that Pacific Gas & Electric Co., would otherwise face financial ruin.
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California Approves Measure to Pass on Wildfire Costs
The California Legislature voted Friday to allow power companies to raise electric bills to cover the cost of lawsuits from last year’s deadly wildfires amid fears that Pacific Gas & Electric Co., would otherwise face financial ruin. Thom Jensen reports.