PG&E;, which filed for bankruptcy protection in January, said it had recorded a $10.5 billion charge in anticipation of damage claims for that fire, the deadliest in state history. Largely as a result, the company reported a $6.9 billion loss for 2018.
Though the cause of the fire is still under official investigation by California officials, PG&E; said it “believes it is probable that its equipment will be determined to be an ignition point of the 2018 Camp Fire.” Attempts to determine the cause of the fire center on the 56-mile Caribou-Palermo electric transmission line. PG&E; in its report said inspections of the line had found equipment that needed repair or should have been replaced.
PG&E;, which serves about 16 million people in northern and central California, has been criticized by lawmakers, consumer groups and others for not doing enough to reduce the risk of fires started by its network of transmission lines and conductors. In addition to its Camp Fire expense, PG&E; recorded a $1 billion charge for liability from wildfires in 2017.
On Thursday, the company said it was stepping up equipment inspections in areas that regulators have identified as having a high fire risk. “We recognize that more must be done to adapt to and address the increasing threat of wildfires and extreme weather in order to keep our customers and communities safe,” John Simon, PG&E;’s interim chief executive, said in a statement.
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PG&E; said its bankruptcy filing was meant to protect it from becoming overwhelmed by its wildfire liabilities. But some investors said PG&E; did not need bankruptcy protection because it earns enough money to pay the wildfire claims as they come due.
The company has already used its bankruptcy filing to halt payments to some wildfire victims. PG&E; has stopped making payments for claims from the 2015 Butte Fire. But the fire does not appear to pose a large financial burden to the company. In the fourth quarter, PG&E; recorded legal costs of $9 million for the Butte fire, a fraction of the expenses from the other fires.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.