Xcel apparently started the fire. What next?

[Sam Colt]

News reports Xcel admits their equipment started the largest wildfire in Texas history. People, property, and livestock were destroyed. The same sort of thing put PG&E into receivership in California. What do you think should happen to Xcel?

 

[jmohme]

News reports Xcel admits their equipment started the largest wildfire in Texas history. People, property, and livestock were destroyed. The same sort of thing put PG&E into receivership in California. What do you think should happen to Xcel?

I would need a lot more info before I could form an opinion.

 

[Sam Colt]

Xcel Energy confirms company's infrastructure likely started Smokehouse Creek fire

Xcel Energy admits its facilities played a role starting the largest fire in Texas history, but denies it "acted negligently in maintaining and operating its infrastructure."

www.lubbockonline.com

 

[FireInTheWire]

Act of God

 

[majormadmax]

You think the entire company should be put into receivership over a fallen SPS utility pole?!?

 

[deemus]

You think the entire company should be put into receivership over a fallen SPS utility pole?!?

I'm sure they have insurance for this kind of stuff.

 

[GeorgeS]

Three probables:
1) some yahoo crashed his lifted pickup truck into it on Friday/Saturday night;
2) smugglers bring drugs, illegals, or both did;
3) drunk driver.

 

[Steve In Texas]

PG&E was given conflicting directions on the proper amount of acceptible and required tree trimming. Utilities have faced that conflict since their beginning. Fire breaks attract much negative attention until the fire actually burns.

The cost of running power lines underground is also significant and carries other risks.

We cannot prevent negative outcomes entirely so there are always trade offs. Knowing which ones become existential from personal, firm, or national level is a real bear in cost benefit analysis.

Risk management works better in a world absent tail events.

 

[jmohme]

All I know is that when the wild fires were in my area, blame was placed for not trimming trees around power lines where the fire originated, but I also know that the property owner had some responsibility in this also, but his pockets were not deep enough to accept any of the liability.

 

[Rhino]

Watch for the Feds to use this to push for Federalizing the Texas grid in 3, 2...

 

[Eastexasrick]

I'm sure they have insurance for this kind of stuff.

After several hundred lawsuits are filed, they will file bankruptcy, then all the suits will be consolidated, under a special master who will conduct case in Federal Court. The Insurance Carrier will tender their limits to the Court, figure $5 million. The Excess Carrier will then tender their limits, figure $10 million. All parties not made part of the suit by a cutoff date, will be excluded from recovery.
The special master will verify if the defendant has any asset which they can contribute that will not jeopardize their ability to function as power supplier. Those assets, if any will be added to the pot. The special master will then conduct endless hearings and mediations to establish how best to dispense the funds to the plaintiffs.

Edit another twist
Xcel is a Minnasota based company, and fire(s) burned into Oklahoma. For these two reasons Xcel may have any State suit removed into Federal Court, without filing for bankruptcy first. Diversity applies as the Defendant is not a citizen of the state where the damages occurred, and alternatively the damages cross state lines.

 

[Fishkiller]

At this juncture it is premature to speculate on an outcome. Was the pole the starter of the fire? Or was it in thevacinity? I recall a big wildfire started by a car that pulled onto the shoulder with high grass. The catalytic converter ignited the grass. So the pint is until the actual cause is known…

 

[msharley]

After several hundred lawsuits are filed, they will file bankruptcy, then all the suits will be consolidated, under a special master who will conduct case in Federal Court. The Insurance Carrier will tender their limits to the Court, figure $5 million. The Excess Carrier will then tender their limits, figure $10 million. All parties not made part of the suit by a cutoff date, will be excluded from recovery.
The special master will verify if the defendant has any asset which they can contribute that will not jeopardize their ability to function as power supplier. Those assets, if any will be added to the pot. The special master will then conduct endless hearings and mediations to establish how best to dispense the funds to the plaintiffs.

Lining the lawyer/yuppy scum pockets the whole way (suggest a read up on B&W burying TONS of Plutonium, in 55gal. drums, in Apollo, Pa....the victims, several generations of the highest concentration of radioactively induced cancer in juveniles..globally...aside from nuclear blast site....the survivors got like $100 or $150 ...each...some parents had buried ALL of their children)

The lawyer/yuppy scum got like $500+ Million....