Utility pays $ 11 billion for fires in California



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(Newser)

Pacific Gas & Electric settled for $ 11 billion with California forest fire claims companies in 2017 and 2018. The deal could help the utility giant get out of bankruptcy, the the Wall Street newspaper reports. PG & E, facing a $ 30 billion liability after deadly fires due to faulty equipment, has filed for bankruptcy protection this year. The settlement announced Friday requires the approval of the bankruptcy court. The money will go to insurers and hedge funds for hedge payments to homeowners and businesses. Thousands of uninsured and underinsured victims who have filed individual claims are not included, according to the AP. Some of these cases are unlawful trials.

The public service is still negotiating with individuals. "We must now get a fair amount for," said a lawyer representing more than 5,000 people who lost their homes as a result of the fires. PG & E agreed to pay $ 1 billion to local governments and state agencies in June as part of an agreement strengthening its bankruptcy plan. The Director General of Public Services has called the agreement $ 11 billion "new step in the implementation of correct measures for communities, businesses and individuals" affected by forest fires, according to the report RPN. Victims' representatives disagreed, saying it would appear that the public service is trying to separate human victims from companies. "PG & E is taking money out of the pockets of people whose homes and businesses it has burned and is handing it over to the insurance companies for them to buy their cooperation," said L & # s. One of them. (Read more about California forest fire stories.)

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