CPUC considers penalizing PG&E $22 million for Mosquito Fire in Placer County
The California Public Utilities Commission said it will consider a settlement agreement with Pacific Gas and Electric for $22 million over the 2022 Mosquito Fire in Placer County.
The CPUC said PG&E would pay a $21 million penalty in shareholder funds to the state's general fund and $1 million for an independent third-party review of the utility company's transmission centralized inspection review team's operations.
An investigation by the CPUC's safety and enforcement division found PG&E's equipment violated a regulation that sets various safety factors and strength requirements, according to the CPUC.
The potential settlement would also require PG&E to conduct a review of its centralized inspection review team's program at the shareholder's expense, the CPUC said.
The proposal will be on the CPUC's voting meeting agenda for the commissioners' consideration on Aug. 13.
PG&E issued a statement to CBS Sacramento that said the utility shares the CPUC's commitment to improving safety.
"PG&E remains focused on reducing wildfire risk to protect our customers and communities," a PG&E spokesperson said in a statement. "While no official cause of the Mosquito Fire has been determined, settling this matter now will allow us to keep focusing our time, resources, and efforts on continuing to make our system safer throughout California."
The Mosquito Fire burned nearly 77,000 acres after it broke out on Sept. 6, 2022. It forced thousands of Placer County residents to evacuate their homes in the Foresthill and Michigan Bluff areas. More than 70 structures were destroyed and more than a dozen were damaged.
Earlier this year, the Placer County Water Agency reached an $80 million settlement with PG&E. The water agency said the fire resulted in one of its hydroelectric projects being offline for about six months, which interrupted power generation and impacted operations. The fire also damaged some of its facilities and natural resources.
Nearly a month after the fire began, the U.S. Forest Service seized a PG&E transmission pole and attached equipment in a criminal probe into what started the fire.
