CA Could See Higher Utility Bills Inflated By Eaton Fire Damage Costs: Report

CALIFORNIA — The devastating wildfire that nearly leveled all of Altadena earlier this year could drive up utility bills for Californians for the next 10 years, according to a recent report.

If Southern California Edison's equipment is found to have sparked the January blaze, damage claims could empty the state's $21 billion wildfire fund. The fund is meant to keep utility companies from going bankrupt in the aftermath of a wildfire lawsuit.

“Everyone is concerned about this,” Michael Wara, director of Stanford’s climate and energy policy program, told The Los Angeles Times. “If we need to put more money into the fund, where will it come from?”

At the state's Catastrophe Response Council meeting last month, officials began weighing a monthly surcharge on electric bills that could extend until 2023. The charge, which already exists, would be extended and add an average of $3 per month to residential bills, the Times reported.

The fee would be paid by customers of the state's largest for-profit utilities: Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric.

“They are asking the people of California to put more money into the fund,” said CRC council member Paul Rosenstiel, according to a transcript of the meeting. “Some of them are asking for an extension of the non-bypassable charge.”

According to California Public Utility Commission documents, that surcharge will add $923 million to the fund. If the fee were to be extended until 2023, utility customers would be required to pay an extra $9 billion.

Consumer advocates like Mark Toney are opposed to extending the surcharge.

“We think ratepayers have more than done enough," said Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network (TURN). "My position is that ratepayers should not pay another penny."

The fire destroyed more than 9,400 structures and killed more than a dozen people. It is estimated to have caused between $28 billion and $53 billion in property damage.

While several lawsuits accuse the utility of sparking the fire, it could take another year or more to determine the exact cause.

Read more from the Los Angeles Times: Eaton fire damage costs could mean higher utility bills throughout California

The news comes as power bills in California have jumped nearly 50 percent in four years, the Associated Press reported this month.

Utility rate increases in recent years have been approved by state regulators in part to help investor-owned utilities bury power lines and conduct vegetation management projects aimed at stopping wildfires. Some of the deadliest and most destructive fires in recent years have been sparked by power equipment.

And while one in every five ratepayers can't pay their power bills, utilities like PG&E raked in record-breaking profits last year, according to The Utility Reform Network, a ratepayer advocacy group.

“There are no limits to how much the utilities can ask for in rate increases. There are no limits to how many times a year they can ask,” Toney said. “You can’t blame them for asking for the sky.”