Mike DeWald (@mike_dewald)
Pacific Gas & Electric Company made official and announced Friday night that they had reached a settlement with victims of the 2017 Tubbs Fire that destroyed over 5,000 homes, half of which were located in Santa Rosa. The long running negotiation about the utilities exit plan from Chapter 11 bankruptcy had been overseen by California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office.
“I am very pleased with the recent news about a potential settlement,” said local attorney Noreen Evans, who had been representing a group of Sonoma County fire victims, “however, justice has been slow in coming for these survivors. I look forward to PG&E paying them for their losses so that they can get back to their lives.”
The $13.5 billion settlement means that wildfire victims, local government and municipalities, as well as Cal Fire will receive reimbursement for costs and damages incurred. The settlement will still require approval from the United States Bankruptcy Court, where a hearing is currently scheduled for December 20th. While PG&E was not found to be at fault by the initial Cal Fire report on the Tubbs Fire, the case was set to go to trial in January with attorneys for victims arguing the utility was in fact at fault. PG&E said that a Bankruptcy Court approval of the settlement agreement would put the utility on a sustainable path forward to emerge from Chapter 11 by the June 30, 2020 deadline to participate in the State of California’s go-forward wildfire fund.
“I look forward to finalizing the settlement so that the state of California can move forward and take better control over delivery of gas and electricity,” said Evans about the path going forward, “It is imperative that we make sure we have an energy delivery system that does not in danger our communities – PG&E needs to either exit stage right or be transformed.”
The debate about PG&E’s future certainly won’t quiet with a number of proposals being put forward about what the structure of the utility would be going forward. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo recently put forth a proposal that would put ownership of PG&E in the hands of its customers.
In a statement, PG&E Corporation President and CEO Bill Johnson said:
“From the beginning of the Chapter 11 process, getting wildfire victims fairly compensated, especially the individuals, has been our primary goal. We want to help our customers, our neighbors and our friends in those impacted areas recover and rebuild after these tragic wildfires. We appreciate all the hard work by many stakeholders that went into reaching this agreement. With this important milestone now accomplished, we are focused on emerging from Chapter 11 as the ulitiltiy for the future that our customers and communities expect and deserve.”
The claims deadline for those impacted by the Tubbs Fire remains at December 31st.
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