Let PG&E ‘off the hook’ for wildfire costs? If not, your utility bills could rise
Today,
But the companies led by
Lawmakers and experts say there's lot at stake for
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If the utilities prevail, the insurance industry anticipates raising premiums on homeowners and declining coverage in some neighborhoods altogether. With no change, your gas and electric bills could shoot up.
"When those fires happened and they burned down all of those houses, costs went up for Californians," said
"The only question is: Should that be a cost that all Californians bear no matter where they live or only Californians who choose to live in areas that are particularly risky?"
State laws and regulations grant utility companies the same power as government entities to exercise eminent domain on your property. Under "strict liability" and a wonky term called "inverse condemnation," the utilities are also responsible for providing compensation if your property is damaged by their equipment, even if investigators fail to prove the utility behaved negligently to cause the fires.
The law means that
The utility company's chief executive officer,
Williams plans to aggressively challenge the law, including framing the issue to
"In the short term, action is needed now before we experience another fire season," Williams said on a call with stock analysts.
She said not addressing the problem has "grave implications to the industry's financial health" and
"My concern is that he with the biggest dollars and lobbying skills will take over the discussion about what is in the best interest for the public," said state Sen.
The company's work in
Gov.
The
State Sen.
"What they are arguing is that they need immunity for the fires last year because without it and based on strict liability in the current law they will be held responsible and that would force them into bankruptcy," Hill said. "What we know as fact is that the current system works perfectly in allocating costs and responsibility."
Hill, a thorn in
Hill said any change would make it harder for homeowners to recoup their losses, especially for uninsured or underinsured properties, and potentially create problems for cities and counties that receive reimbursement for emergency services.
He pointed to CPUC data that show more than 885,000 utility customers, or 5.3 percent of all accounts in the state, were disconnected last year.
"It's a very regressive way to fund these property damage claims because you're threatening the ability of people to lose essential service," Long said. "When that happens people's lives start to spiral out of control. They're making choices between their rent and their utility bills."
Now homeowners insurance companies pay out claims and then sue utilities for the losses. But if utilities are not responsible for property damages, insurance companies could get stuck with the financial burden.
The
"There aren't going to be easy answers here," said Long of TURN. "You can't get blood from a stone."
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