PG&E fined $4 million in deaths of 84 people in 2018 fire

Pacific Gas & Electric on Thursday was fined $4 million for the deaths of 84 people killed in a nightmarish Northern California wildfire ignited by the its long-neglected electrical grid. The sentencing comes as the nation's largest utility prepares to end a 17-month bankruptcy proceeding triggered by the catastrophe.

The maximum penalty assessed by Butte County Superior Court Judge Micahel Deems was a mere formality, given that PG&E reached a plea agreement three months ago to resolve manslaughter and other charges. They stemmed from a November 2018 inferno that wiped out Paradise, California, a town located 170 miles (275 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco.

Deems rebuked PG&E for its “callous disregard” for human life and pointed out that if an individual had confessed to the same crimes as the company did, he would have been able to order a sentence of 90 years in state prison.

But as a corporation, PG&E can not be imprisoned, forcing the judge to issue the maximum fine allowed under California law. Although PG&E has been in bankruptcy since early last year, the penalty won't leave a big financial dent, given that it brought in $17 billion in revenue last year.

PG&E's harshest punishment came in the form of a public shaming that laid bare the horrific toll of its reckless behavior. The company's dereliction also was detailed in a summary of a scathing grand jury report.

The sentencing came after two days of courtroom drama that included PG&E's outgoing CEO, Bill Johnson, solemnly pleading guilty on behalf of the San Francisco company for 84 felony counts of involuntary manslaughter while starting at pictures of each victim. The families of the dead then spent an emotionally draining day in court telling the heartbreaking stories of their anguish and venting their anger.

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