Sacramento, CA — At a meeting with regulatory agencies, investor-owned utility PG&E admitted it could bear some responsibility for the rapidly spreading Dixie Fire in Plumas and Butte counties. Now the 8th largest fire in California’s history, the fire has forced evacuations, burned through 274,139 acres and destroyed 45 buildings as of this morning.

“PG&E’s admission that it could bear responsibility for the Dixie Fire is yet another reason for the CPUC to put control of utilities back in the hands of California communities,” said Food & Water Watch’s California Director Alexandra Nagy. “While our climate warms and our drought worsens, we cannot afford any more mismanagement from PG&E that leads to catastrophic wildfires like the Dixie Fire. Investor-owned utilities like PG&E are motivated by profit, not by the public good, and have zero incentive to transition to safer, climate friendly energy infrastructure like local solar or battery storage. It’s time for an equitable energy transition that leaves no one out and protects all communities from PG&E’s mismanagement. It’s time for energy democracy. We call on the California Public Utilities Commission to hold PG&E accountable and begin the process of giving control of their energy decisions back to California’s communities.”

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Contact: Jessica Gable, (202) 683-2478, [email protected]