PG&E Says Its Equipment Likely Ignited Camp Fire

PG&E Corp, which filed for bankruptcy last month because of potential liabilities from wildfires in California, said it is probable that its equipment will be determined to be an “ignition point” of the 2018 Camp Fire.

PG&E faces billions of dollars of potential liabilities related to the wildfires if an investigation determines its equipment caused them.

The company took a $10.5 billion charge for the 2018 Camp Fire and an additional $1 billion charge related to 2017 Northern California wildfires.

PG&E said it had taken a total of $14 billion in pretax charges for the 2018 Camp Fire and the 2017 Northern California wildfires to date.

The charges represent a portion of the previously announced estimate of potential wildfire liabilities, which could exceed more than $30 billion, PG&E said.

Last November’s deadly Camp Fire destroyed the Northern California town of Paradise and killed 86 people

Federal filings showed on Wednesday that the power utility had delayed a safety overhaul of a high-voltage transmission line, a prime suspect behind the deadliest wildfire in California’s history.

(Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)