Utility companies are big donors to CA Democrats and they may stick you with last year's wildfire costs

"The announcement from Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders said that due to recent devastating fires and mudslides, they would work together this year to “make California more resilient against the impacts of natural disasters and climate change.” Among the issues they promised to address: updating liability laws for utility companies.:

"The innocuous-sounding statement belies a controversial idea: that Californians could eventually have to pay more for electricity because of last year’s wildfires."



"So the power companies’ lobbyists have been pounding the hallways of the state Capitol, asking legislators to change the “inverse condemnation” law. They argue that it shouldn’t apply to them—or if it does, they should be allowed to raise rates to cover their costs. That raises an expensive and emotional question: Who should pay for wildfire damages if the power companies are liable, their stockholders or their customers?"

"The utilities are big political donors and have a lot of sway in a Capitol dominated by Democrats. The three companies have given at least $12.5 million to California political campaigns since 2013, including more than $2.5 million to the state Democratic Party."


Read more at:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.vcstar.com/amp/453582002