Oregon Regulator to Examine Pacificorp’s Request to Restrict Wildfire Legal responsibility

Oregon’s utility regulator this week stated it will examine a petition by PacifiCorp to restrict its legal responsibility from future wildfire-related lawsuits, delaying a call on the ability supplier’s request by so long as 9 months.

In October, the Berkshire Hathaway Power BRKa.N subsidiary requested regulators in 5 of the six states it serves to restrict damages tied to future utility-caused wildfires.

That request got here 4 months after an Oregon jury discovered PacifiCorp should pay not less than $87 million in compensatory and punitive damages for 4 wildfires that broken greater than 2,400 properties over Labor Day in 2020.

Placing a limitation on legal responsibility will permit it to make sure cheap charges and finance future expenditures, PacifiCorp stated in its October submitting.

On Tuesday, the Oregon Public Utility Fee (OPUC) authorized a workers suggestion submitted on Nov. 17 to droop PacifiCorp’s request for as much as 9 months for an investigation.

The proposed modifications have “vital coverage implications in addition to authorized points” and can’t be adequately investigated by the efficient date of Nov. 29, 2023, proposed by PacifiCorp, OPUC workers stated within the suggestion.

The Portland-based utility serves 2 million prospects in Oregon, Washington, California, Utah, Idaho and Wyoming.

PacifiCorp’s mounting litigation prices dampened third-quarter earnings of father or mother firm Berkshire Hathaway’s power enterprise.

(Reporting by Nicole Jao; Modifying by Sonali Paul)

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