Wildfire Reform
This Session: Legislators Need to Solve the Wildfire Policy Crisis
Crisis for Ratepayers:
Cannot keep coming back to ratepayers every four or five years, asking them to extend contributions to the Wildfire Fund past 2045. Ratepayers have already paid $53 billion. ($14 billion for 2019 wildfire fund (AB 1054), estimated $12 billion for 2025 wildfire fund (SB 254), $27 billion in 2019–2024 wildfire mitigation costs)
Crisis for Utilities = Crisis for Ratepayers:
Bankruptcy will cost So Cal customers billions because SB 254 does not have AB 1054 provisions that protected Nor Cal customers from 2017–18 wildfires.
Crisis for Wildfire Survivors:
Wildfire survivors have been waiting too long to get their claims paid, and then often getting short-changed, resulting in skyrocketing utility bills and skyrocketing property insurance bills.
Key Turn Principles for Any Wildfire Reform Package
(This is a preliminary list of ratepayer protection proposals. When the draft Wildfire Reform bill language is released, we will have others to add.)
Invest in wildfire risk reduction to reduce ignition and spread of all wildfires.
Declare a state of emergency, and shut down transmission lines ahead of windstorms.
Windstorms predicted 3 days in advance: 2017 in Nor Cal, and 2025 in So Cal.
Replace $500 million annually for Cal FIRE vegetation management, cut in from GGRF.
It is critical to fund prescribed burns, vegetation thinning, and fire breaks.
Provide homeowner incentives to create defensible space around their properties.
Private insurers can follow lead discounts offered by FAIR plan.
Protect utility ratepayers from unlimited wildfire costs.
Protect the Wildfire Fund from subrogation claims from insurance companies and other third parties.
Set a cap on how much can be collected per incident, or per utility, for the lifetime of the Wildfire Fund through 2045.
Allocate state funds to cover wildfire survivors’ damages that exceed the cap.
Restore the requirement that utilities must prove they were not negligent in order to receive liability protection.
Restore the ability of external parties to participate in CPUC wildfire investigations before settlement
Provide prompt compensation to wildfire survivors.
Support a State-managed fast pay facility to accelerate payments to survivors and
reduce litigation costs.Make available a claims navigator to help applicants submit required documentation.
Establish the state as the wildfire insurer of last resort.
Create a state-sponsored insurance plan for all wildfires.
Make property insurance mandatory, just like automobile insurance.
Create a state-sponsored insurance plan for all wildfires.
Make property insurance mandatory, like it is for vehicles.
Explore revenue options to set up a $36 billion Wildfire Rainy Day Fund.
Wildfire bonds, second home assessments, tax assessments, or increases.