Calif. High Court: PG&E Shielded from $2.5 Million Class Action Over 2019 Blackouts

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Supreme Court has upheld dismissal of a class action seeking $2.5 billion in damages stemming from 2019 power shutoffs implemented by Pacific Gas & Electric to protect the public from wildfires, ruling that it would interfere with the state Public Utilities Commission’s regulatory powers.

In a Nov. 20 opinion, a unanimous court reasoned that “by seeking liability for PSPS events regardless of whether the shutoff decision or implementation was negligent, the suit interferes with the PUC’s broad supervisory power over how utilities can and should respond to the present threat of catastrophic wildfires.”

The court …