Investors eye PG&E after power lines blamed for fires

Bloomberg

Investors will be watching PG&E Corp. after California investigators said the utility-owner’s equipment sparked four of the smaller wildfires that broke out in Northern California last year.
In the first findings on the more than 170 fires that charred the region, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire, said blazes in Butte and Nevada Counties, located in the Sierra Nevada foothills, were caused by trees or branches hitting PG&E power lines. The causes of the larger, deadly blazes in wine country, including the Tubbs Fire in Napa and Sonoma counties, remain under investigation.
Cal Fire found evidence that PG&E violated state laws in three of the smaller blazes, including not leaving adequate clearance between trees and power lines. In the La Porte Fire, which burned 8,417 acres and destroyed 74 structures in Butte County, investigators said PG&E hadn’t broken state rules. No injuries or deaths were tied to the four fires.
PG&E is reviewing the reports and believes its fire-prevention programs met the state’s “high” standards, according to a statement. Shares of the San Francisco-based company fell 2.6 percent in after-hours trading.
The fact that investigators found evidence indicating the investor-owned utility’s wires sparked the blazes isn’t surprising — given how frequently electrical equipment is responsible for wildfires, said Paul Patterson, a utility analyst at Glenrock Associates.
“The key question will be if any of the fires resulted in negligence or imprudence on the part of the utility,” he said. The California Public Utilities Commission said in a statement it would incorporate Cal Fire’s findings into its own probes.