Participating Utility Company Information
Participating Utility Companies
There are three utilities that participate in the California Wildfire Fund – San Diego Gas & Electric Company, Southern California Edison, and Pacific Gas & Electric Company (collectively, the “IOUs”). You can find out more information about each IOU by accessing their individual websites below.
AB 1054 Created Incentives for the IOUs to Invest in Mitigation
AB 1054 required $5 billion in the aggregate for utility wildfire safety investments with no return on equity for the IOU. AB 1054 requires IOUs to file Wildfire Mitigation Plans with the California Public Utilities Commission. These Wildfire Mitigation Plans must cover at least a three-year period and describe the IOU’s plans to implement preventive strategies and programs to minimize the risk of its electrical lines and equipment causing catastrophic wildfires, including consideration of dynamic climate change risks.
In addition, AB 1054 created incentives by way of cost-recovery from the Fund, for IOUs to obtain and maintain safety certifications from the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety. Safety certifications encourage an IOU to invest in safety and improve safety culture to limit wildfire risks and reduce costs.
More information on Wildfire Mitigation Plans and safety certificates is available on the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety website.
Summary of Wildfire Fund Claims Administration Process
Step #7: Process for Determining Whether an IOU Must Reimburse the Fund
Once the Administrator has paid an IOU for eligible claims, the IOU must go through a catastrophic wildfire proceeding before the California Public Utilities Commission (“PUC”). If the PUC finds that the IOU acted prudently, the IOU does not have to reimburse the Fund for eligible claims covered by the Fund. If the IOU is found imprudent, or partially imprudent, the IOU must reimburse the Fund for the portion of the eligible claims covered by the Fund to the extent of the IOU’s imprudence, up to a statutorily defined liability cap. The liability cap does not apply if the IOU either did not have a valid safety certification at the time of the covered wildfire, or if the Administrator finds that the IOU acted with conscious or willful disregard of the rights and safety of others.
The amounts published in Appendix 1 (PDF) relate to what amounts, if any, an IOU may be required to reimburse the Fund; including a calculation of the statutorily defined liability cap for each IOU. The Administrator is required to publish calculations of these amounts pursuant to California Public Utilities Code section 3292(h)(2)(D).