Oregon’s PacifiCorp Wants Wildfire Liability Limited

PacifiCorp is a company owned and operated by Berkshire Hathaway. Four months ago, PacifiCorp was found guilty of causing four wildfires in the PIA Western Alliance state of Oregon that destroyed, or damaged, 2,400 properties over Labor Day weekend in 2020.

The company was ordered to pay $87 million in punitive damages. That’s a huge sum and because of those punitive damages, PacifiCorp is asking the Oregon Public Utility Commission to limit future liability in such cases.

The company says putting a cap on liability will allow it to set reasonable rates and to finance future expenditures. The PUC said it will hear the request but it is going to take nine-months or so to investigate before a decision can be made.

PacifiCorp wanted a decision now but the PUC says the long delay is because the request has "significant policy implications as well as legal issues.”

The company is making similar requests to regulators in the PIA Western Alliance states of Washington, California and Idaho, and in Utah, and Wyoming.

Source link: Reuters — https://bit.ly/47Y8zlg