Amended wildfire fund plan (California/PG&E) still has huge flaws (Opinion)

Thomas D. Elias writes the syndicated California Focus column. He is author of the book, “The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It.”

Hurried, slapdash amendments to a proposed state Wildfire Fund plan pushed by Gov. Gavin Newsom improve it a little, eliminating secret meetings by a now-discarded new commission and forcing utilities to pay a full $5 billion for fire safety measures. But the plan still does not answer two key questions ignored by Newsom and the state Legislature:

Why should consumers pay for the negligent conduct of utility companies like Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric?

And do these companies deserve to survive, considering how the largest two of them admit they’ve behaved?

SNIP

“This entire plan does not focus on fires, but on ways to let the utilities keep making billions,” says former San Diego City Attorney Michael Aguirre, whose legal work caused the reduction in consumer payments for San Onofre. He threatens a lawsuit to cancel the new plan, if it becomes law. “It’s as if no one really wants to stop the fires.”

FULL ARTICLE: https://napavalleyregister.com/opinion/columnists/thomas-d-elias-amended-wildfire-fund-plan-still-has-huge/article_87d7b6dd-bf8c-577e-b26d-17c102eded8e.html

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Disgraceful ... huge disappointment. Even in California, lobbyists win. From the Wall Street Journal, which describes the legislation as a "win" for bondholders:

Paul Singer’s Elliott Scores Big Win in PG&E Clash -- California legislators side with PG&E bondholders in tussle with shareholders over wildfire-liability bill

The California legislature delivered a preliminary victory to hedge-fund billionaire Paul Singer and other PG&E Corp. bondholders in their months long battle with the utility’s shareholders.

Mr. Singer’s firm, Elliott Management Corp., is one of the biggest owners of bonds issued by the power company, which filed for bankruptcy protection in January while estimating that it could owe tens of billions of dollars to victims of the state’s deadly 2017 and 2018 wildfires. The investors have been lobbying in Sacramento for months to sway the wildfire-liability bill the legislature passed Thursday, people familiar with the process said.

The legislation requires utilities to contribute as much as $10.5 billion into a wildfire insurance fund and billions of dollars for wildfire prevention, while capping future liabilities. Bondholders and shareholders alike support the broad strokes of the measure, but have clashed over an obscure point that may decide which group ultimately controls the company, the people familiar with the process said.

The skirmish over the reform bill shows how the funds involved are reaching deep into California politics to gain an advantage. Their lobbying has forced the state’s politicians into a delicate balancing act, forming policies that keep investors willing to inject more cash into PG&E ...

MORE: https://www.wsj.com/articles/paul-singers-elliott-is-on-the-verge-of-a-big-win-in-pg-e-clash-11562852390