SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (AP) – Pacific Gas & Electric confessed Tuesday to killing 84 people in a devastating Northern California wildfire.
The dramatic court hearing was also punctuated by a promise from the company’s outgoing CEO that nation’s largest utility will never again put profits ahead of safety.
PG&E CEO Bill Johnson appeared on the company’s behalf in Butte County Superior Court to plead guilty to 84 felony counts of involuntary manslaughter.
They stem from a November 2018 wildfire ignited by the utility’s crumbling electrical grid.
Johnson solemnly looked at photos those who died while acknowledging the company’s responsibility for the fire that wiped out the town of Paradise.
