California power customers file claims in pre-emptive outage

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A Northern California utility said Wednesday it received 146 demands for reimbursement from customers who say Pacific Gas & Electric Company's controversial decision to cut power to prevent wildfires hurt them economically.

The utility said in a report to California regulators that it won't pay any of the claims. Most of the complaints were over spoiled food.

PG&E also explained it decision to pre-emptively cut power for the first time to 60,000 Northern California customers from Oct. 14 to Oct. 16. PG&E said in its report to the California Public Utilities Commission that it made the decision after the National Weather Service issued a wildfire warning for much of the region.