PG&E Corp. (NYSE:PCG) has an aggressive public relations campaign to get the wildfire-liability monkey off its back, but not everyone is buying it.
The stock declined sharply Tuesday on news that CalFIRE had determined the cause of three of last October's fires was the utility's failure to remove and cut back trees near power lines.
Those fires caused minor damage compared with the Tubbs Fire, the most destructive in California history, the cause of which remains undetermined but which started on a night of a freak windstorm. The Tubbs Fire destroyed an estimated 5,600 structures, more than 60% of the overall total of 8,900.
Damage from the fires has been estimated at $15 billion, or about five times last year's PG&E operating income.
Who Controls the Narrative?
The fight for control of the narrative is evident in articles about a bill authored by state Senator Bill Dodd, a Democrat from fire-ravaged Napa. According to Dodd, the bill would reduce wildfire risk by forcing utilities to adopt fire-risk strategies that include de-energizing lines during windstorms.
But critics including consumer groups see it at a thinly veiled way of getting the utilities off the hook. As the Los Angeles Times noted:
As long as a utility adhered to its plan, the PUC would be required to allow it to recover damage expenses from ratepayers, even if its equipment contributed to a fire. Critics say the bill undermines the prevailing standard setting forth when customers, rather than shareholders, bear the costs of utility operations. Currently, customers pay for utility expenses through their rates as long as the PUC finds that a utility has incurred those "prudently." Dodd's bill would automatically deem a utility's actions "prudent" as long as it remained in compliance with its fire safety plan.
The San Francisco Chronicle, in an
