CPR: California’s three large investor-owned utilities are renewing efforts to allow them to make ratepayers cover the costs of wildfires that authorities blame on utilities’ mistakes or poor maintenance.
Pacific Gas & Electric officials made this clear last week when they announced they expected to have at least $2.5 billion in liabilities from the wildfires that scarred the wine country of Northern California last October. That sum is only for 12 relatively small blazes that the state blames on PG&E’s failure to maintain equipment and clear brush near power lines. Authorities are still looking at what caused the biggest blaze – the Tubbs fire – which torched more than 3,000 homes in Sonoma County and is blamed in the deaths of 22 people.
PG&E CEO-President Geisha Williams used a conference call with analysts to make the case for state legislation to protect electricity utilities from bankruptcy in an era in which huge wildfires – blamed on hotter, drier weather – are more common than ever. PG&E only has an estimated $840 million in insurance coverage to deal with the 200 and counting lawsuits from the wine country conflagrations. read more
Why don’t they just sue Mother Nature instead?
One of the greatest drags on an economy these days is lack of personal/business liability.
People buy homes in flood areas, because the government protects them from financial loss.
Cops and bureaucrats act without concern, because any lawsuit proceedings will be paid by the government.
Drug manufacturers making vaccines can let quality control slide, because the federal government grants them immunity from liability.
Investment firms go bankrupt, but the people making the decisions have already earned their bonuses and just move to the next job.
It is rampant. Liability needs to go to the personal level – it is the only way that people will take care in their work.
@LCD – that and loser pays civil lawsuit costs – as it stands now there is little downside for ambulance chasers
“geisha williams”
() female
() cuban
() named after a japanese whore
affirmative action trifecta!
tired of diversity enrichment yet?
The cost of maintenance should be passed along as fair and reasonable because people are allowed to build in high fire danger areas and then demand utillities to service the structures. But I would suggest that these people bear the brunt of these extra charges instead of the rate payers as a whole.
But damages for poor maintenance should be the responsibility of the utility – in theory. Realistically, does anyone believe that Sacramento will allow PG&E to go bankrupt as a result of negligence lawsuits? Nope, the potential disruption in utility service would piss off too many voters.
Maybe the worst fraud in Cal is the PUC, It has “penalized” PG+E and SCE many times this century. $xxx,xxx,xxx. then3 to 6 months later approved rate increases for PG+E and SCE. The rate increases have with 1 exception been more than enough to pay the “penalties”. the people the PUC has “penalized” this century in Cal have been the people buying utilities! “The consumers” are the folk made to pay by this “consumer protection” agency.
Full disclosure. – I have relatives that work for the named utilities. I WILL NOT NAME NAMES! but they have known (in 1 instance for 40 years) who and what the PUC is protecting. Clue – not I!