GUY KOVNER

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | November 5, 2018

PG&E, facing responsibility for billions of dollars in 2017 wildfire damages, will renew a push next year to change California’s stringent legal standard of holding power companies liable for losses from fires caused by their equipment.

Geisha Williams, PG&E’s CEO, said Monday in a livestreamed quarterly earnings report the state’s liability policy is “flawed and it needs to be addressed,” repeating a contention she had made previously when state lawmakers considered a comprehensive wildfire response bill.

That bill, signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in September, is “a constructive initial step,” Williams said.

The law did give PG&E precedent-setting relief, allowing it for the first time to tap ratepayers for a portion of last year’s wildfire costs the embattled utility anticipates could reach $17 billion. The California Public Utilities Commission was ordered to apply a financial “stress test” determining the specific amount PG&E can pay without harming ratepayers or affecting power service. PG&E can then recoup any additional amount through sales of state-sponsored bonds, which will be repaid by the utility’s customers through charges on their monthly bills.

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https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/local/8908088-181/pge-renews-push-for-relief?sba=AAS

Approved by Governor September 21, 2018. Filed with Secretary of State September 21, 2018.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB901

SB 901, Dodd. Wildfires.

AB 901's new rules to push wildfire damages on to ratepayers

https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/california-passes-pge-wildfire-relief-bill-but-grid-regionalization-fails#gs.ggT2fms

Going through the actual bill was difficult - only the bill # was stated not any subsections - …sorry