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PG&E shareholders to pay $125M for igniting massive Kincade Fire

State authorities said the utilities company ignited the largest wildfire of the 2019 fire season when its electrical transmission equipment failed.

SONOMA, Calif. — Pacific Gas & Electric [PG&E] has reached a $125 million settlement agreement with California regulators over the 2019 Kincade fire that ravaged Sonoma County.

The Press Democrat reported Wednesday PG&E shareholders would pay a $40 million fine to the state general fund and another $85 million for removal of abandoned transmission equipment throughout the utility’s territory as part of the agreement expected to be approved by the California Public Utilities Commission at its Dec. 2 meeting. 

The 2019 fire was ignited by a transmission tower catching fire after malfunctioning during high winds in a remote part of Sonoma County.

The agreement was reached after the commission’s  Safety and Enforcement Division found a high-voltage PG&E transmission tower ignited the blaze. 

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