PG&E-
PG&E says equipment likely cause of Camp Fire
Pacific Gas and Electric Company's (PG&E) stated its equipment was probably the cause of the Camp Fire which killed 86 people in California last year.
"Although the cause of the 2018 Camp Fire is still under investigation, based on the information currently known to the company and reported to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and other agencies, the company believes it is probable that its equipment will be determined to be an ignition point of the 2018 Camp Fire," the utility company wrote in a statement.
The belief is based on the CPUC's electric incident report, which determined the Camp Fire started near a PG&E transmission tower shortly after it experienced an outage, and a testimony of an employee for the California-based utility who observed a fire near the tower following the disruption.
Because of the information, PG&E said it was including a $10.5 billion pre-tax charge related to third-party claims in connection with the fire in its full-year and fourth-quarter 2018 financial results. The company stock plummeted 6.29% at 9:51 am ET following the press release.