Editorial: Don’t let negligent power companies pass the buck for wildfires to consumers

Regulators are investigating whether downed power lines sparked any of the fires that roared through Northern California last month, killing dozens of people and destroying thousands of homes and businesses. It certainly wouldn’t be unusual if that were what caused one or more of the so-called Wine Country fires. Some of California’s most destructive wildfires began that way.

While some power-line-sparked wildfires may be unavoidable — such as when lightning strikes a transformer, igniting a blaze — others might have been averted with better maintenance or upgraded equipment. One stark example: Authorities say the 2015 Butte fire that killed two people and destroyed 549 homes was caused by Pacific Gas & Electric improperly maintaining its power lines.

Any time an investor-owned power company’s negligence causes a destructive wildfire, the company’s customers should not be forced to pick up the tab for property damage claims or fines that are levied. It’s not the fault of ratepayers if a utility doesn’t take the steps necessary to avoid a wildfire. Nor would it serve the public’s interest to slough the cost onto consumers. If the state’s for-profit investor-owned utilities — primarily Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric — are insulated from the costs of the damage caused by faulty maintenance or equipment, they will have little incentive to make the changes and investments that might avoid the next deadly fire.

In some cases, however, utilities have sought to be reimbursed for some of their fire-related costs when seeking rate increases from the state Public Utilities Commission. The utilities argue that because they are quasi-governmental agencies required to serve everyone in their territory — even those in remote, fire-prone areas — at rates set by the state, the public should share the risk of providing that service. But that argument would be reasonable only in cases in which they had no culpability.

Four state legislators from Northern California say they will introduce a bill in January to prohibit the state’s investor-owned utilities from sticking customers with a bill for fires caused by their negligence. But waiting until next year won’t do much to help ratepayers in San Diego if the PUC next week allows SDG&E to charge customers an extra $379 million to help pay for some of the costs incurred by the Witch, Guejito and Rice fires in 2007, which were found to have been caused by negligence on the part of the utility. The PUC should deny the request, which is what two administrative judges and consumer advocates recommend. It might not seem like a big burden to customers, just $1.67 a month for the typical bill, but the ultimate cost of giving a pass to those who put people in danger through negligent behavior is incalculable.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook