Texas Sues Xcel Energy Over Wildfire Damages

Texas Sues Xcel Energy for Negligence in Smokehouse Creek Wildfire: A Billion-Dollar DisasterTexas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against Xcel Energy, accusing the utility company of negligence in maintaining its aging power poles, which allegedly sparked the largest wildfire in Texas history, the Smokehouse Creek fire. The fire, which occurred in 2024, destroyed homes, killed livestock, and scorched over 1,500 square miles, causing over one billion dollars in damages. The lawsuit seeks to recover economic damages and prevent Xcel Energy from passing these costs on to its customers. Xcel Energy has acknowledged its equipment likely caused the wildfire but disputes the claims of negligence, stating it has already accepted responsibility for the equipment failure and paid out over $361 million to settle claims. DNN | The Daily News Now! The world’s first global local news network. Every city. Every story. AI powered. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.