Xcel Energy Faces Texas Negligence Suit in Deadly Wildfires

Xcel Energy‘s failure to replace decaying utility poles resulted in a massive wildfire last February that caused damages of up to $1 billion in the Texas Panhandle, state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) said in a new lawsuit.

Despite an inspection showing poles needed to be replaced weeks earlier, the Minneapolis-based company took no action ahead of violent winds that leveled them to the ground and sparked dry vegetation below. Multiple fires quickly expanded and to cover more than 1 million square miles, the largest wildfire in state history, the lawsuit filed Tuesday said.

“Xcel failed to take the ...