One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.
Costs from Aliso Canyon gas blowout near $1 billion
This photo, which appears in a report of the Interagency Task Force
on Natural Gas Storage Safety, shows the damage to Aliso Canyon gas well SS-25 after the massive leak was plugged.
(
Interagency Task Force on Natural Gas Storage Safety
)
Listen
0:47
Costs from Aliso Canyon gas blowout near $1 billion
The cost of the nation's largest-ever uncontrolled natural gas release now stands at $913 million and counting, Southern California Gas Company said Tuesday in its fiscal year-end earnings report. The company owns the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility in the foothills above Porter Ranch at the north end of the San Fernando Valley.
About $469 million of the cost has already been covered by insurance payments, the company report said. SoCal Gas estimates it can ultimately recover up to $887 million of the costs due to Aliso from its insurance policies.
The financial toll from the company's ruptured gas well will continue to climb. The $913 million figure does not include future legal costs or damages from lawsuits. Some 373 lawsuits representing more than 45,000 plaintiffs remain to be litigated.
In an earnings call Tuesday, Debra Reed, CEO of SoCal Gas' parent company Sempra Energy, said $20 million had been set aside for a potential legal settlement. A spokesman for the company declined to say which case might be close to settling.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
