Californians should not pay for utility negligence when it comes to wildfires

Looking at billions of dollars in damages caused by last year’s wildfires in California, powerful special interests are already lobbying the state capitol to shift the liability. Major investor-owned utilities, insurance companies, trial lawyers and others are all playing “hot potato” with liability for damages. Those at risk of getting stuck with the tab are the groups getting cut out the process: Ratepayers.

California’s ratepayers already pay some of the highest utility rates in the country. Electricity rates for California families are already 41 percent higher than the U.S. average. But the pain goes beyond the energy bills you see at home. It’s also reflected in the availability of jobs with good wages, and overall costs of living in California because electricity rates for factories, farms, and food processors are a staggering 86 percent higher than the U.S. average.

These rates are not only high. They are also climbing. In 2010, commercial ratepayers paid 21 percent above the national average. Today, it’s 49 percent. We’re leaving the rest of the country behind in our skyrocketing energy costs.

What does this have to do with wildfires? Well, the major utilities are now pushing legislation to make you pay for the damages on your utility bill.

With state lawmakers grappling with how to allocate costs from wildfire damage claims, utilities’ lobbyists are pushing for a blank check to increase rates for “cost recovery” of all utility expenses related to wildfire mitigation and emergency response, without being held accountable for actually taking action to prevent wildfires.

Legislation would absolve utilities of liability for damages, so long as utilities acted according a “safety plan" – but safety plans would be rushed through the oversight process, with no guarantee that they apply any requirements for equipment maintenance, tree trimming or other actions that must be undertaken to actually minimize fire risk. With utilities being relieved of liability, then the costs would fall on to ratepayers.

California wildfires last year set new records of frequency and massiveness. State investigators have already determined at least 16 of those wildfires were directly caused by one utility’s equipment – which had also violated state codes requiring tree trimming and other safety measures in the majority of those fires, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The department will likely be adding more wildfires to utilities’ track record as investigations continue.

Utilities are causing these wildfires through negligence and they are trying to avoid responsibility at ratepayers’ expense. This is the worst time to cut ratepayers out of the process.

Yet, another proposal in the Legislature would short-circuit the public process of reviewing and approving utilities’ safety plans and proposed rate increases. Under the current process, regulators review these plans within a thorough and highly technical review process, including due process safeguards that afford ratepayers the opportunity to participate and check any unfair increases on rates. Utilities are now pushing legislation to unnecessarily restrict this public review period, undermining ratepayers’ due process rights and opening the door for future rate hikes.

Unfortunately, the very committee state lawmakers have created to set policy for wildfire mitigation and liability, with a promise to take these deliberations out from under the shadows and into the light of day, has initially excluded ratepayers. We are working diligently to assure ratepayers have a voice.

Tasked with strengthening wildfire prevention activities, this new conference committee on wildfire preparedness and response is also responsible for holding those who cause wildfires accountable for the damages, as well as ensuring a fair allocation of prevention and response costs in a manner that protects ratepayers.

We encourage all members of the new conference committee to hold utilities accountable for the wildfires caused by their equipment and negligence, to include ratepayers in the discussion and not allow special interests to shift the costs onto those who are already paying so much.