Newsom pushes secret bills to shield utilities from wildfire costs Play

Keep an eye on what the governor is going to do about Southern California Edison.

CalMatters, the nonpartisan statewide news agency, reports that California Gov. Gavin Newsom is asking lawmakers to pass a secretive set of bills. They would reduce how much Southern California Edison and other profit-making utility companies must pay out after wildfires.

His administration has been floating a wide-ranging package of bills to address the spiraling costs of wildfires. The Newsom bills are still vague and mostly secret, but they have made a lot of different interests unhappy.

Insurance companies have launched an ad campaign against what they call a potential “utility bailout.” They are worried that possible restrictions on lawsuits from fire victims would leave them unable to recover from the power companies the costs of paying homeowners’ insurance claims.

Attorneys representing fire survivors and other plaintiffs that sue utilities don’t want to see their fees reduced. And local government leaders are demanding that they continue to be paid the full cost to rebuild incinerated infrastructure.

But on the other side are the politically influential utilities. The state’s big three investor-owned utilities are Pacific Gas & Electric, San Diego Gas and Electric, and the local one, Southern California Edison.

They are not yet in imminent financial danger and last year saw profits rise. But fire costs have contributed to Californians paying the second-highest electricity rates in the country.

Lawmakers and Newsom’s office worry that if it becomes harder for utilities to borrow money those bills will continue to climb.

At a press conference last week, Newsom said “The status quo doesn’t work.” Newsom is a lame duck. He leaves office in January, and he says the process will unfold over the course of the next few months.

That report from CalMatters.