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3w ago

Newsom Proposes $18 Billion Top-Up to California Wildfire Fund

Ratepayers would cover half of an $18 billion infusion through a monthly fee, with utility shareholders covering the rest under liability rule extensions set through 2045

Destroyed homes from the Palisades Fire in the Alphabet Streets neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, CA, on Monday, January 27, 2025. The wind-whipped fire destroyed at least 23,448 acres and destroyed thousands of structures. This image is a composite of multiple aerial photos. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A house burns as powerful winds fueling devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area force people to evacuate, at the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, U.S. January 8, 2025. REUTERS/David Swanson/ File Photo
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Overview

  • Governor Gavin Newsom circulated draft legislation on July 31 to bolster the state’s Wildfire Fund after warnings it could be exhausted by January’s Eaton and Palisades fires
  • The plan would impose a new surcharge on electricity customers to raise $9 billion, matched by $9 billion from Edison International, PG&E and Sempra shareholders
  • Draft language calls for extending the fund’s sunset from 2035 to 2045 and mandates a study on spreading wildfire risk costs across California taxpayers
  • Newsom’s office is pushing caps on insurers’ subrogation claims to curb high settlements that critics say are depleting the fund
  • The proposal faces utility and insurer opposition and must win legislative approval when lawmakers reconvene on August 18