By Jason Fordney

Pacific Gas and Electric earnings jumped 42% to $550 million during the third quarter ($1.07/share), boosted in large part by reduced expenses and realization of one-time income. Year-to-date profits for the utility have more than doubled to $1.5 billion, compared with $711 million last year.

Operating revenues for the electric side were $3.6 billion for the quarter, out of total revenues of about $4.5 billion.

“The quarter-over-quarter increase reflects lower expenses primarily due to the absence of disallowed charges related to the San Bruno penalty decision, which impacted the third quarter of 2016, and also due to insurance proceeds in the third quarter of 2017 related to the court-approved settlement of the shareholder derivative suit, with no similar amount in 2016,” PG&E said during an earnings call Thursday.

During the first nine months of the year, the utility incurred $71 million in costs associated with in fines and penalties, including disallowed expenses of $32 million, related to an April 2015 decision by the California Public Utilities Commission regarding the San Bruno pipeline explosion.

PG&E CEO Geisha Williams also discussed the wildfires that blazed across the state in the third quarter, saying “we also remain focused on continued investment in vital infrastructure and technology to increase the resilience and the sustainability of California’s energy economy for the future.”

The utility restored service to 360,000 electric customers and 42,000 gas customers during the disasters, saying it is aiding the PUC and California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in their investigations.

PG&E updated its 2017 guidance range to $3.36 to $3.56/share because of the reinstatement of the company’s liability insurance following the wildfires and an increase in the expected third-party claims associated with the 2015 Butte fire, partially offset by insurance recoveries.

More than 12 victims of the recent wildfires have filed suit against PG&E for this season’s blazes, which claimed 43 lives and burned thousands of homes and commercial buildings. The company told the Securities and Exchange Commission on Oct. 13 that “the causes of these fires are being investigated by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), including the possible role of power lines and other facilities of” PG&E. The company said it is unknown whether it will have any liability, but it has $800 million in liability insurance for potential losses from the fires.