utility liabilities from wildfires News

Decayed, Broken Utility Pole Caused Largest Wildfire in Texas History: Report

LUBBOCK — A decayed utility pole that broke, causing power wires to fall on dry grass in the Texas Panhandle, sparked the state’s largest wildfire in history, a Texas House committee confirmed Wednesday. And other poorly maintained power equipment sparked …

Wildfires Are Upending Some of the Safest Bets on Wall Street

When the Texas Panhandle went up in flames this winter, the news spread fast on Wall Street. An electric utility by the name of Xcel Energy Inc. was getting blamed for the massive blaze — a lawsuit pointed the finger …

Utility Company Skips Texas Panhandle Wildfire Hearings

AMPA — A company hired to inspect utility poles in the Panhandle declined to testify before Texas lawmakers Wednesday, as part of the state’s inquiry into the Smokehouse Creek fire — the largest wildfire in state history that burned more …

Texas Committee to Investigate Panhandle Wildfires

LUBBOCK — Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan is creating a legislative committee to investigate the Texas Panhandle wildfires to ensure the state is prepared for future disasters. His Tuesday announcement comes more than two weeks after the deadly infernos first …

Xcel Texas Wildfire Legal Reckoning to Take Years to Play Out

(Xcel Energy Inc. will likely be wrangling for years with the legal fallout from the wildfires burning through the Texas Panhandle. The experience of utility companies in California and Oregon sued over massive blazes sparked by downed power lines shows …

Texas Utility Rules Didn’t Prevent Panhandle Wildfires

Before it burned to a pile of ashes, Melanie McQuiddy’s house on the outskirts of Canadian was her family’s home base. Her daughter and grandchildren flocked there for holidays. At Christmastime, she put a tree in every room and transformed …

Texas Fires Trigger Drop for Xcel With Law Firm Alleging Link

The worst-ever Texas wildfire sent shares of Xcel Energy Inc. plunging after a law firm said it might be linked to the disaster, the latest sign that potential ties between power companies and blazes are triggering volatility in once-sleepy utility …

California Utilities Face Potential of Billion Dollar Wildfires Year After Year

California utilities are facing the very real possibility that billion-dollar blazes could become an annual occurrence, and they don’t know how to pay for them. Shares of the state’s two largest utilities plummeted Monday after both PG&E Corp. and Edison …

PG&E to California Governor on Fire Liability Plan: It’s Not Enough

California Governor Jerry Brown issued a plan this week to help the state’s embattled utilities facing liabilities from wildfires. For PG&E Corp., it’s not good enough. “It’s insufficient,” PG&E Chief Executive Officer Geisha Williams said on the company’s second-quarter earnings …