Top California Court Curbs PG&E-Induced Blackout Liability (1)

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. customers have limited recourse for the billions of dollars in damages they sustained when weather conditions prompted days of power shutoffs to prevent wildfires in 2019, the California Supreme Court ruled Monday.

The justices, answering questions posed by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, ruled that permitting such a lawsuit would interfere with the state Public Utility Commission’s regulatory and supervisory authority over public safety-necessitated power shutoffs, also known as PSPS events.

“Because the action heightens the risk that a utility’s PSPS decision-making may be influenced by considerations outside the scope of ...