Southern California Edison is trying to recover $1.6 billion in losses caused by the fires

Southern California Edison, a utility unit of Edison International, said Thursday it is seeking approval of a settlement agreement to recover nearly 60 percent of losses related to fires and mudslides in 2017 and 2018.

Under the settlement with the California Public Utilities Commission, if approved, the company would be authorized to recover about $1.6 billion of the $2.7 billion in losses from the Thomas Fire, the Koenigstein Fire and the Montecito mudslides.

Related: Wildfire threats keep utilities out of service in western US

The amount includes about $1.3 billion in uninsured claims paid through May 31 and $300 million in estimated legal and financing costs.

The two fires, which started on the night of December 4, 2017 and are collectively known as the Thomas Fire, have charred more than 280,000 acres, or about 440 square miles, including more than 150,000 acres of land in the System Santa Barbara and Ventura Country National Forester.

Related: Southern California Edison to pay $80 million for 2017 wildfire

It killed two people and damaged or destroyed more than 1,300 structures. Authorities blamed the company’s power lines for the fire.

However, Rosemead, Calif.-based Edison International said it believed the fire started at least 12 minutes before any problems involving its equipment.

In February of this year, Southern California Edison agreed to pay US$80 million to cover costs and damages incurred by the US Forest Service following the fire.

The new settlement would also authorize the company to recover about $55 million of the total restoration costs of $65 million. In addition, the company agreed to $50 million in shareholder-funded fire and public safety-related system upgrades.

(Reporting by Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)