PG&E’s planned upgrades come amid heightened scrutiny of the utility, which serves more than 16 million people over 70,000 square miles (181,300 square kilometers) in central and northern California. The commission, which regulates utility rates, said it expects to make a final decision on the request between July and September. In California, for example, Pacific Gas and Electric has requested to increase its rates for residential customers this year by roughly 18%, partly to bury more than 3,000 miles (4,828 kilometers) of overhead power lines underground, according to a fact sheet from the state’s public utilities commission. While total damages remain to be determined, they are expected to reach into the billions.īecause utilities make money from customers, they often raise revenue for infrastructure upgrades by hiking rates. They killed nine people, burned more than 1,875 square miles (4,856 square kilometers) and destroyed upward of 5,000 homes and other structures. The fires were among the worst natural disasters in Oregon’s history. PacifiCorp said it was disappointed with the jury’s decision and that it plans to appeal. Last week, a jury in Oregon found PacifiCorp liable for damages for negligently failing to cut power to its 600,000 customers during a windstorm over Labor Day weekend, despite warnings from top fire officials, and for its power lines being responsible for multiple blazes. And in the end it’s going to bite all of us, because they have to recover that expense.” “How do they pay for that and at the same time try to do grid hardening at a pace that could prevent the need for constant shutting down of the power?” Josh Hacker, chief science officer at Jupiter Intelligence, a company that provides advice on managing climate change risks, said of lawsuit damages. While updating, replacing and even burying thousands of miles of power lines is a time-consuming and costly undertaking, the failure to start that work in earnest years ago has put them on the back foot as wildfires have grown more destructive - and lawsuits over electrical equipment sparking blazes have ballooned. West, are increasingly finding themselves in a financial bind that’s partly of their own making, experts say. PORTLAND - A jury verdict that found an Oregon power company liable for devastating wildfires - and potentially billions of dollars in damages - is highlighting the legal and financial risks utilities take if they fail to take proper precautions in a hotter, drier climate.
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