Wildfire Survivors Push Back Against Newsom-Led Utility Bailout
California wildfire survivors are opposing a legislative bailout plan supported by Governor Gavin Newsom that would limit utility liability for fire damages. Critics argue the plan unfairly protects utility companies at the expense of victims and ratepayers.
Why it matters
The debate centers on the tension between corporate accountability and the financial stability of essential utility infrastructure.
Time and time again, California’s big three investor-owned utilities have attempted to shift the cost of their own incompetence to ratepayers in the aftermath of wildfires they have been proven to cause. Now, state leaders in Sacramento have spent the final days of the eight-month legislative session racing against the clock to codify that financial dodge, and what is essentially a utility bailout , into law.
Democratic presidential hopeful and outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom has devised the plan and shepherded it through closed-door negotiations . Based on what we know, it would limit claims that victims of utility-caused fires can bring against utilities, block insurers from recouping losses through a process of seeking payouts from liable third parties called subrogation , and make it harder for survivors to access representation by capping attorneys’ fees.
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