Utilities Reject Claims for Outage-Caused Damages

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of utility customers whose air conditioners, computers and other property was damaged by the massive power blackout that struck Western states two months ago are likely to be left holding the repair bills, utility officials and regulators said Friday.

Southern California Edison Co., one of several major companies serving California, has sent letters rejecting claims to about 1,500 customers who sought reimbursement for everything from fried electrical circuit boards to spoiled food and loss of business.

Other utility companies, including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, have routinely responded to customer complaints that they are not responsible for the outage that left 4 million people in nine states without power on Aug. 10.

Despite the warning, a DWP spokesman said Friday that more than 200 people had filed claims anyway and more are still coming in.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” fumed Christine Garza of Quartz Hill, who paid $361 to repair a blown air-conditioning relay switch and circuit board caused by the power surges that accompanied the blackout and restoration of power.

“We pay bills to the utility company and we expect them to make sure we’re OK. What if the next power surge blows up our house?”

But Southern California Edison, along with Pacific Gas & Electric, San Diego Gas & Electric and others, blame the problems on “a natural disaster” in Oregon in which power lines sagging from record heat dipped into overgrown trees, triggering the outage.

There is currently no way to determine the total amount of damage to appliances and other electrical goods by the blackout, power company representatives say.

While utility companies are required by law--and regularly do--reimburse customers for damages caused by negligence by that company, they generally cannot be held responsible for incidents over which they have no control, several power company and California regulatory officials said.

A spokeswoman for the California Public Utility Commission said customers whose claims are rejected by local utilities have little recourse but to sue.

About 80 customers from throughout the western United States have gone directly to the source of the outage, filing claims with the Bonneville Power Administration in Portland, Ore., the federal agency responsible for the transmission lines that triggered the blackout.

“Since we are not the originator of the problem, we have advised a couple of people that they can contact Bonneville,” said DWP spokesman Ed Freudenburg. Executives of other utility companies said they also have referred irate customers to the Bonneville agency.

Perry Gruber, a Bonneville spokesman, said attorneys are considering the issue. “We are just collecting the claims. We have not made any decision on whether we will pay,” said an unhappy sounding Gruber.

Edison Co.’s rejection letters explained development of the Pacific Intertie power grid system in the 1960s as essential to assure a reliable power source to Edison’s customers.

The letters pledge that the company will do everything possible to prevent a recurrence, but deny responsibility by Edison.

Complaints came from customers throughout Edison’s 50,000 square miles of territory, said spokeswoman Millie Paul.

“We always look very carefully at the facts from the claimant and respond directly to that particular incident,” Paul said. “We are extremely sorry that this incident occurred and we are very aware of the problems that it caused. However, we cannot be responsible for the interruption or shortage of supply caused by circumstances beyond our control.”

Garza, the Antelope Valley resident who received one of Edison’s letters, said she had hoped the utility would reimburse customers for their losses, then recover the costs through legal action against the responsible agency. “You depend on them for service. If they have to go after somebody else, then that’s their job,” Garza said.

Letters attached to claim forms sent out by PG&E;, which serves 4 million electric customers in Northern and Central California, warned that claims “will most likely be denied” because the outage “was beyond our control.”

However, the letter suggested some homeowners may be able to recover losses from their insurance carriers. The letters also pointed out that customers have the right to file an action in Small Claims Court if the losses were less than $5,000.

PG&E; officials said they have no tally of the number of customers who complained about damage but that requests for claim forms have continued weeks after the event.

“We look at every claim on a case-by-case basis to determine if we should investigate further,” said spokeswoman Mary Rodrigues. “But we know that the Aug. 10 incident was outside our territory and was not one that PG&E; could have avoided.”

San Diego Gas & Electric, which serves 1.2 million customers, received 172 claims as a result of the Aug. 10 outage even after callers were told that their requests probably would be rejected, said spokesman David Kusumoto.

He called the number of claims low, “not nearly as much trouble as we thought we might get.” He attributed the low number to extensive news coverage explaining the cause of the massive power failure and its origin in Oregon.

“I guess we were lucky, given the magnitude of what occurred on that day and the duration of the outage.”