California regulators are seeking $22 million from PG&E, alleging the utility provider committed violations that were uncovered during an investigation into the 2022 Mosquito fire in Placer County, according to documents from the proposed settlement made public last week.
The Mosquito fire ignited Sept. 6, 2022, near the Oxbow Reservoir and spread across 76,788 acres, razing 78 structures and damaging 13 more, according to the California Public Utilities Commission. The fire burned for more than 50 days, prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency in Placer and El Dorado counties.
The U.S. Forest Service is investigating the cause of the fire. The company could not immediately be reached for comment.
In its own investigation, the California Public Utilities Commission said it found evidence that PG&E failed to make certain repairs or maintain some of its power lines, according to a notice sent to the utility. These alleged failures, however, did not play a role in sparking the Mosquito fire, the notice said.
The commission also said PG&E didn’t report the fire until two days after it broke out, and that it destroyed a utility pole and other equipment before investigators could examine them.
In a written response to the commission’s findings, a PG&E official said the pole and equipment “were not involved in the ignition” of the Mosquito fire. The equipment was mistakenly destroyed due to “internal miscoordination,” wrote Daniel Kushner, the utility’s director of risk and electric compliance.
Kushner said the utility had cooperated with the investigation, turning over data and making PG&E staff available for interviews. The utility offered to give investigators access to the dumpsters where the pole was discarded, Kushner wrote, but the commission declined to inspect them.
As for the delayed notification, Kushner said the utility did not initially believe the fire met the criteria of a “reportable incident” that would trigger a mandatory report, such as injury to a person or significant property damage.
In the proposed settlement announced Friday, PG&E agreed to pay a $21-million penalty to California’s general fund, and up to $1 million to a third party that will examine the utility’s policies. The California Public Utilities Commission, a panel of five appointed by the governor, will vote on the proposal Aug. 13.
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