Utility asked last month to hike bills over California fires

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Jonathan J. Cooper, Cathy Bussewitz and Garance Burke, Associated Press
Updated 2:59 am CST, Friday, November 16, 2018

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A utility facing severe financial pressure amid speculation its equipment may have sparked a deadly Northern California wildfire asked U.S. energy regulators last month for permission to raise its customers' monthly bills to harden its system against wildfires and deliver a sizable increase in profits to shareholders.

In an October filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. laid out a variety of dangers confronting its transmission lines running through Northern California, saying its system faced a higher risk of wildfires than any other utility.

"The implications of PG&E's exposure to potential liabilities associated with wildfires are dramatically magnified," the filing said. "Overcoming the negative financial impact of any significant damages that might ultimately be attributed to PG&E will require an ongoing commitment of capital from investors."

San Francisco-based PG&E — one of the nation's largest electric utilities serving most of Northern and central California — made the request a month before the Camp Fire broke out Nov. 8 and quickly ballooned into the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century. No cause has been determined, but speculation has centered on PG&E, which reported an outage around when and where the fire ignited.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Utility-asked-last-month-to-hike-bills-over-13396666.php

[iluvtennis]

1. I say no. we already pay enough for PG&E and to now know it may have been their equipment

that started this fire. No, No, and No

[BigmanPigman]

2. Gov Brown just signed a bill bit the utility companies are already complaining

"... pressure comes even though Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation in September giving utilities some relief beginning next year. The law made it easier for utilities to pass along costs from fire-related damages to consumers and also avoid possible bankruptcy from a series of major fires that occurred during the 2017 fire season that produced more than $10 billion in losses. But the law has a gap: No damages specific to 2018 were included, so utilities face a higher bar to bill customers to cover those costs. And this year has already supplanted 2017 as the most destructive in California's recorded history.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-wildfires-could-cost-utilities-pg-e-and-edison-despite-new-law/

Utility companies are often at fault for causing fires..
The fire in Malibu 10 years ago was...
"The fire began on Oct. 21, 2007, when three power poles alongside Malibu Canyon Road snapped during high Santa Ana winds and ignited nearby brush. The fire burned 3,836 acres, destroyed 36 vehicles and 14 structures, damaged 19 others and injured three firefighters."
http://www.malibutimes.com/news/article_e115f3aa-02e3-11e2-811c-0019bb2963f4.html

That same year there was the huge Witch fire (the state's 6th worst fire), also due to power companies...
"The California Public Utilities Commission ruled that in the Rice fire, San Diego Gas and Electric had not trimmed back trees as state law requires. It was also at fault, the commission said, in the Witch and Guejito fires. The power line that caused the Witch fires shorted three times in three hours, but the utility didn't cut power to it for six hours.[34]

In August 2017, administrative law Judges S. Pat Tsen and Sasha Goldberg ruled that the utility did not reasonably manage its facilities and that the wildfires were not outside of its control. Therefore, they ruled that the utility could not pass its uninsured costs along to its ratepayers. The PUC agreed in early December in a 5-0 vote.[34][35]" wikipedia

[Grokenstein]

3. Not the first time for PG&E

After their negligence blew up a neighborhood in San Bruno, they did everything they could to interfere with the investigation. When that failed they wanted to pass the financial penalties off to their customers. And all the while they've been running ads declaring that they "learned their lesson."

And that was before their negligence began setting off wildfires. A month ago they turned off power to 6000 people--and left it off for days--because they knew what was happening.

Because it's been going on for months.

[Bengus81]

4. The real key words are: "deliver a sizable increase in profits to shareholders."

That's all they care about here in Kansas,forget the fact that fixed income people can hardly keep up with non stop rising energy bills. So what to do?? Let Westar (Wichita and a good chunk of Kansas) and Kansas City Power and Light merge come early 2019 and become a super utility. I give those asshats 3-4 months before whining how they need a rate increase after having one from Westar foisted on us about a year ago.

Good example of what we go through from an Wichita Eagle article at their last rate increase proposal......"There have been 30 rate increases over the last 10 years. Westar rates have increased 67 percent since 2007."

[irisblue]

5. Is PG&E a privately held company? How much $for the CEO?

Yeah I know, but I'm not done w/ coffee #1

[CountAllVotes]

6. PG&E sux

First they get away with the San Bruno situation and now this.

Sickening!

Let their fat cat CEO pay for this atrocity!

Not one more cent!

NONE.

How is PG&E going to get out of this? Raise the rates.

Noted a headline a few days ago that there is a natural gasoline shortage this winter of 17% ... of course!

Nice thing to do with over a thousand missing persons and god only knows how many have died!