SAN FRANCISCO - Pacific Gas & Electric on Thursday was fined $4 million for the deaths of 84 people killed in a nightmarish Northern California wildfire ignited by the its long-neglected electrical grid.
The sentencing comes as the nation’s largest utility prepares to end a 17-month bankruptcy proceeding triggered by the catastrophe.The maximum penalty assessed by Butte County Superior Court Judge Micahel Deems was a mere formality, given that PG&E reached a plea agreement three months ago to resolve manslaughter and other charges.