A California utility whose equipment and downed power lines were blamed for igniting wildfires that killed dozens of people and destroyed thousands of homes has agreed to pay $1 billion in compensation.
FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2015 file photo, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation inmates stand guard as flames from the Butte Fire approach a containment line near San Andreas, Calif. Attorneys representing 14 local governments said Tuesday, June 18, 2019 that they had reached a $1 billion settlement with California utility Pacific Gas & Electric for a series of fires dating to 2015.
More than half of the settlement is related to the 2018 fire in Northern California that killed 85 people and destroyed more than 13,000 homes. It included $270 million to the town of Paradise, which was mostly destroyed in the fire. “This money will help local government and taxpayers rebuild their communities after several years of devastating wildfires,” Baron & Budd said in a news release. “The cities and counties will be in a better position to help their citizens rebuild and move forward.”
Last month, regulators approved allowing utilities to cut off electricity to possibly hundreds of thousands of customers to avoid catastrophic wildfires.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Google pledges $1 billion to tackle Bay Area housing crisisGoogle pledged $750 million worth of its own land for residential use, part of $1 billion promised to address the housing crisis in the Bay Area announced Tuesday.
Read more »
Over $1 billion worth of cocaine seized at Philadelphia portU.S. authorities say it’s one of the largest drug busts in American history, amounting to over 16 tons of cocaine.
Read more »
Atlassian has done over $1 billion in deals—now it wants to make them less stressful by laying out the rulesAtlassian is releasing a document that's meant to simplify the negotiation of terms for acquisitions. That way the buyer and seller can focus on more important topics, like integration.
Read more »
Private Jets, Oscar de la Renta, and Desert Sunsets: How an Heiress Scammed Her Own $1M WeddingHair stylist-to-the-stars William 'Jordan' Blackmore was allegedly tricked by his heiress fiancée, Andi Potamkin, into having a lavish wedding in Utah, according to court documents obtained by ELLE.com.
Read more »