Aug 29 (Reuters) - Southern California Edison, a unit of

utility Edison International ( EIX ), said on Thursday it was

seeking approval for a settlement agreement to recover nearly

60% of losses related to wildfires and mudslides in 2017 and

2018.

Under the agreement 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 related

to the Thomas Fire, Koenigstein Fire and Montecito Mudslides.

The amount comprises about $1.3 billion of uninsured claims

paid till May 31 and $300 million of legal and estimated

financing costs.

The two wildfires, which started on the night of Dec. 4,

2017 and are collectively known as the Thomas fire, charred more

than 280,000 acres (113,312 hectares), or about 440 square

miles, including more than 150,000 acres of National Forest

System land in Santa Barbara and Ventura countries.

It killed two people and damaged or destroyed more than

1,300 structures. The authorities had blamed the utility's power

lines for the fire.

The Rosemead, California-based Edison International ( EIX ),

however, had said it believed the fire started at least 12

minutes prior to any issue involving its equipment.

In February this year, Southern California Edison agreed to

pay the U.S. $80 million to cover costs and damages incurred by

the U.S. Forest Service from the fire.

The new settlement would also authorize the company to

recover about $55 million of the total restoration costs of $65

million. Besides, the company has agreed to $50 million of

shareholder-funded wildfire and public safety-related system

upgrades.