Wildfire costs jolt PG&E with huge loss, CEO calls Brown fire plan ‘insufficient’
Despite the net loss on the company's bottom line,
"The governor's proposal is constructive, but it is insufficient," said
Other proposals include altering the use of a legal principle known as inverse condemnation, which holds utilities strictly liable if their equipment was a factor in starting a wildfire, even if the utility properly conducted maintenance and facilities upgrades; efforts to ease the financial burden from liabilities
Excluding the one-time costs associated with the October wildfires,
The utility's equipment and facilities were determined by state fire investigators to have caused 16 wildfires last fall, including 12 of the October wildfires in
Of the 16 fire incidents, state investigators alleged that the company violated the law in 11 blazes in 2017.
If
That effort has prompted opposition, however, from insurance companies.
"The insurance industry is saying hold your horses in terms of getting rid of inverse condemnation," said
"Some carriers have significantly reduced their exposure by reducing limits or excluding events that were previously covered, and all have significantly increased their premiums," said
The cost of this new insurance coverage is expected to be
That means higher monthly bills loom over customers just to cover higher insurance costs.
Legislative proposals under discussion in
"We will never sacrifice safety-driven work, but as long as these flawed policies remain in place, we must carefully evaluate whether we can support our current level of capital expenditures," Williams said.
"We are hearing a level of desperation from
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