PacifiCorp, a unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, is attempting to negotiate a settlement with the US government, as the latter is threatening to sue the company to redeem nearly $1 billion in costs related to the 2020 wildfires in southern Oregon and northern California.
The potential lawsuits were revealed in an annual report filed by PacifiCorp’s Iowa-based parent company, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, yesterday, two days after Buffett expressed disappointment in the results at the conglomerate’s utility division in his annual letter to the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway. This new liability emerged after the utility already accepted to compensate with hundreds of millions of dollars in lawsuits related to the fires.
In its annual report, Berkshire Hathaway Energy stated that the US Justice Department informed the company it is asking for $625 million in firefighting and cleanup costs in regards to the September 2020 Archie Creek and Susan Creek fires. However, Oregon’s Justice Department revealed that it is also requesting $109 million in damages related to those fires.
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