Ratepayer and environmental organizations call on Newsom and the legislature to ensure any deal lowers electricity bills, protects survivors, reduces wildfire risk, and undergoes full public debate
SACRAMENTO – As Governor Newsom and California lawmakers negotiate a deal to reform utility liability for wildfires, leading ratepayer, environmental and economic advocates sent a letter today urging that any package deliver immediate ratepayer savings, invest in mitigation to bring down total costs, and be released as soon as possible for public deliberation.
With the legislature heading into the final weeks of session, details of the wildfire package have not been released to the public — raising concern about a last-minute deal without adequate stakeholder input. The letter urges lawmakers to release the package as soon as possible for full public review.
“California must reduce risk through investment in wildfire mitigation while sharing those costs more fairly and in a way that lasts across fire seasons, rate cases, and legislative sessions. Governor Newsom and the legislature can make real progress this session, but we need all stakeholders at the table. It’s imperative that bill language is released now,” said Nuin-Tara Key, Chief Operating Officer, California Forward (CA FWD).
Wildfire costs are driving surging electricity bills in three key ways: utilities charge customers for safety work to prevent their equipment from sparking fires, pass along the cost of damages from fires their equipment ignites, and have higher costs of securing capital to build their infrastructure due to their wildfire risk exposure. For the average IOU customer, roughly one-fifth of the monthly bill now goes toward wildfire-related costs.
“Escalating costs from wildfires are creating dangerous failures in insurance and electricity markets, driving unsustainable costs for California families. Reform is urgently needed to make utilities’ financial responsibility for wildfire more predictable and fairly shared across stakeholders, without further de-stabilizing the insurance market,” said Katelyn Roedner Sutter, California Senior Director at Environmental Defense Fund.
Utilities can pass these costs on because of California’s current legal framework, which holds them financially responsible for fires their equipment ignites — even when they weren’t found negligent — and lets them recover much of that cost from customers rather than shareholders. The letter calls for a framework that distributes these costs more equitably and doesn’t further destabilize the insurance market, with a reduction in utility profit margins proportional to changes in risk.
“California’s investor-owned utilities are bringing in record-breaking profits while millions of customers struggle just to keep the lights on. Any legislation reforming utility liability must include SB 905 and SB 1098 — bills that deliver real rate relief and close billing loopholes that let utilities charge customers billions with little oversight. California lawmakers must center the needs of utility customers in their negotiations — not utility shareholders,” said Nicole Capretz, Founder and CEO, Climate Action Campaign.
The letter also calls on lawmakers to prioritize wildfire mitigation that reduces fire ignitions and lowers damages when fires do occur. California remains locked into a reactive spending paradigm — one that prioritizes fighting fires and paying for losses after they occur, rather than investing in mitigation upfront. The letter calls for the package to provide no less than $2 billion annually for landscape and community prevention, building toward the $4-7 billion needed annually to adequately reduce risk.
“The only way to actually bring down wildfire costs that are at the heart of California’s affordability crisis is to invest in wildfire mitigation. Otherwise, we are just shuffling around who pays for the damages. A robust set of policies and — most importantly — funding, to increase the pace and scale of mitigation, should be central to any wildfire reform package,” said Sam Uden, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Net-Zero California.
“California utility customers are shouldering billions of dollars in wildfire costs through their bills — and those costs fall hardest on the households that can least afford them. The state’s current approach is spiking electricity rates with no end in sight. California’s system for paying for wildfire costs needs reform—but any changes to utility liability must deliver real, immediate savings for ratepayers,” said Victoria Rome, director of California government affairs at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council).
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California Forward (CA FWD) is a multi-partisan, non-profit organization building a New California Economy that is sustainable, resilient, and inclusive. We support economic growth using a regions-up approach, stewarding state resources, and building resilience in the face of a changing economy and climate. This ongoing work is done in collaboration with diverse partners—including our California Stewardship Network and leaders from business, community, government, labor, and more. We convene annually at our California Economic Summit, where we work with these partners and others to continue improving and developing programs, policies, resources, and solutions for a truly sustainable economic model.
Environmental Defense Fund: With more than 3 million members, including half a million in California, Environmental Defense Fund creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. To do so, EDF links science, economics, law, and innovative private-sector partnerships to turn solutions into action. Visit us online at edf.org. Connect with us on X @EDF_CA and Bluesky @edf-ca.bsky.social.
