CSAC Statement on Wildfire Liability

Sacramento, CA – CSAC CEO Graham Knaus issued the following statement in response to reports that the Governor and Legislature are considering legislation to shift wildfire liability away from California’s privately owned utilities:

The state must not put private utilities’ profits above fire survivors and local communities.

This is a corporate bailout. And counties will fight to protect survivors and our communities.

It’s an insult to Californians’ intelligence to spin this as “affordability.”

The only people saving money would be rich shareholders. The rest of us wouldn’t save a dime. They’d just get a different bill — higher insurance rates or higher taxes.

Earlier this week, investigators found that Southern California Edison caused the Eaton Fire in Los Angeles last year. And PG&E is threatening a backroom financial deal to increase shareholders’ profits while reducing money available for California.