Letters to the Editor: Utility companies need to answer to the residents, not shareholders

To the editor: Staff writer Melody Petersen’s article is a good start on the failure of for-profit utilities to take public safety seriously, but it doesn’t go nearly far enough (“Edison’s safety record declined last year. Executive bonuses rose anyway,” May 18).

In a first approximation, the dollar value of the damage done in my community of Altadena is on par with the market capitalization of Southern California Edison. The penalty for a failure on this scale should be the death of the for-profit corporation.

Fundamentally, the financial incentives for the leadership of a for-profit corporation will always favor short-term expense management over public safety. There is no way trivial adjustments in executive compensation will address this. Utilities need to answer to voters, not shareholders.

The Legislature needs to convert SoCal Edison and PG&E into municipal utilities. They need to require utilities to move transmission lines away from areas of dry vegetation or bury them. The future is hot, dry and windy. We need to require our electric utilities to take this seriously.

Sue Greer, Altadena

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To the editor: Gee, nice work if you can get it. One question: Why do any of SoCal Edison’s executives get a bonus in any year? And just what does Chief Executive Pedro Pizarro actually do, on a daily basis, to justify his ludicrous paycheck?

Jack Grimshaw, Lake Forest