Benzinga | May 26, 2021 12:59PM EDT

PG&E And Local Public Entities Resolve Kincade And Zogg Wildfire Civil Claims; Co To Pay $43.36M To Entities In Agreement

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has reached agreements to resolve the wildfire civil claims held by 10 local public entities, including cities and counties, affected by the 2019 Kincade Fire in Sonoma County and 2020 Zogg Fire in Shasta County. Under the agreements, a total of $43.36 million in payments will be made to those entities.

"When I joined PG&E earlier this year, I said that I wanted to make it right and make it safe for our customers and communities. We are pleased to have reached these resolutions, so that we can help our hometowns as they recover," said PG&E Corporation Chief Executive Officer Patti Poppe. "Local cities and counties are critical to the fabric of our lives, and today's resolution reflects our commitment to supporting them and all they are doing to rebuild after these two fires. We look forward to continuing to partner with these local entities as we work to strengthen our energy systems and deliver for our customers and communities."

The agreements with the public entities reflect a mutually agreed upon resolution of their claims against PG&E for damages related to the wildfires following mediations between the parties. The following public entities are among the 2019 Kincade Fire plaintiffs:

* Sonoma County;

* City of Cloverdale;

* City of Healdsburg;

* City of Santa Rosa;

* Town of Windsor;

* Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District;

* Sonoma County Community Development Commission; and

* Sonoma County Water Agency. The following entities are among the 2020 Zogg Fire plaintiffs: Shasta County and Tehama County. Ongoing Wildfire Safety Work PG&E continues to make its system safer and more resilient for its customers and communities. There is no single solution to wildfire safety, so PG&E continues to evolve and improve all of its wildfire safety efforts and continues that important work this year, including: Meeting and exceeding state vegetation standards across 1,800 miles of power lines to manage nearby trees and other vegetation that could cause a wildfire or power outage. Continuing to upgrade the electric grid by hardening at least 180 miles of power lines to reduce wildfire risks. Installing 250 sectionalizing devices to narrow the scope of Public Safety Power Shutoff events so fewer customers are without power. Piloting new technologies that detect threats to the electric grid and rapidly reduce or shut off power thus reducing the need for larger PSPS events. Employing new risk modeling to better prioritize our wildfire safety prevention efforts and target work in the areas and communities at the highest risk. For more information about how PG&E is reducing wildfire risk throughout Northern and Central California, go to pge.com/cwsp.