PG&E to pay $45 million fine over California’s Dixie Fire, regulator says (NYSE:PCG)

PG&E (New York Stock Exchange:PCG) could face fines of $45 million for violating state laws that led to the 2021 Dixie Fire that burned nearly 1 million acres in Northern California, the California Public Utilities Commission proposed Monday.

If approved, PG&E (PCG) would had to spend $40 million to digitize its records, as a result of the PUC’s discovery that PG&E’s poor record-keeping hindered its ability to detect and treat the pine tree that fell on the company’s power lines and caused the fire. , according to the conclusions of Cal The fire investigation.

PG&E (PCG) would also pay $2.5 million to California’s general fund and contribute another $2.5 million to tribal governments affected by the fire, according to the PUC proposal.

Last year, the company avoided criminal charges stemming from the fire by reaching a financial settlement with district attorneys representing the affected counties.