Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is seeking monetary damages and consumer restitution in a lawsuit against a national utility company, alleging it failed to care for its aging Texas infrastructure that caused the state’s largest wildfire.
According to reports, two decayed utility poles owned by Xcel Energy sparked the Smokehouse Creek fire in 2024 that burned through more than 1 million acres in West Texas, killing three people and thousands of livestock and causing more than $1 billion in damages. The lawsuit claims Xcel had marked one of the poles that fell as defective weeks before it started the fire, but that the Minnesotabased company chose not to replace it.
The lawsuit was filed in district court in Hemphill County, where dozens of homes were destroyed and one person died from injuries sustained in the fire. The suit also seeks civil penalties against Xcel under the Public Utility Regulation Act for allegedly failing to maintain its utility poles and distribution lines. Xcel officials confirmed in 2024 that they owned the utility poles that had caused the fire but have denied allegations of negligence.
Paxton announced in August he had sent investigative letters to Xcel, as well as Osmose Utilities Services and Southwestern Public Services Company, to discern their roles in recent wildfires. The lawsuit states that Xcel ignored the warning and chose to place marginal profits — amounting to only a few thousand dollars — above the safety and wellbeing of Texans,the state’s property, and the natural resources.
In a statement Tuesday, Xcel said it had “accepted responsibility from the beginning” and attempted to work with victims and state officials to reach solutions.
Xcel has already settled more than 200 claims made against the company and paid roughly $361 million, according to the company’s statement Tuesday.
Texas passed a legislative package during the regular legislative session this year designed to improve emergency officials’ ability to respond to fires as they occur. One of the new laws allows state agencies to inspect power lines, as more than 60% of Panhandle fires have been caused by fallen utility poles.