Utility Execs Warned: They Might Pay For Irresponsible, Negligent Decisions

THOMAS ELIAS OPINION COLUMNIST

Until a short time ago, top executives of California’s privately owned utility companies had nothing personal to fear from any decision they made, even if it cost dozens of human lives. That’s how it went when Pacific Gas & Electric Co. officials neglected to maintain gas pipelines adequately in the San Francisco suburb of San Bruno, which led to an explosion that killed eight persons in 2010. And when PG&E executives neglected to trim vegetation near power lines, causing a manslaughter conviction for the company

San Luis Obispo will Remain a General Law County

Dear Editor,

The proposal to change San Luis Obispo from a General Law County to a Charter County had unanimous bipartisan opposition from both the electorate and the Board at the May 17 Board of Supervisors meeting.

During the Public Comment period, an overwhelming concern was voiced in regards to losing direct representation by the BOS on behalf of the electorate. Speakers objected to the potential creation of Charter commissions, committees, sub-committees, county managers, etc., which when almost 100 died in fires during 2017 and 2018. And when negligent corporate decisions caused billions of dollars in damage over the last 15 years in areas served by Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric.

But notice has now been served: Corporate utility executives whose decisions cost lives and burn homes and other buildings may eventually be forced to pay, and not mere nickels and dimes.

The hope is this will lead to more responsible decision making by the companies, but that remains to be seen. For sure, the new climate may become much more cautious, causing inconvenient public safety power shutoffs in fireprone areas when weather turns hot and extremely dry.

Those are some implications of a $117 million settlement would all have more influence over the Supervisors than the electorate. Others were concerned at the inevitability of special interest groups vying for self-serving amendments to a County Charter.

Concerned citizens drew parallels between the challenges our county currently faces with the California Coastal Commission and how we would lose say in our own county with the creation of a Charter Commission. Some were primarily concerned with the protection of the authority of our Sheriff. There was opposition to the proposed charter based on it, not including an Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC). Even those preferring special elections over Governor appoint- reached in a lawsuit late last fall against 20 former PG&E officers and directors. The suit was filed by the Fire Victims Trust, which received $13.5 billion from PG&E and its bankers when the utility evaded bankruptcy after the North Bay, Camp, and other fires burned thousands of acres in Northern California between 2015 and 2018. All were ignited by arcing power lines that set ablaze untrimmed, dry plants and trees.

The deliberate pace of the victims’ trust in distributing funds has drawn criticism from many fire victims forced to fend for themselves after losing their homes, often moving in with relatives or being otherwise compelled to leave their blackened home areas. As of last Sept. 30, the trust says, it had passed out more than $5 billion to victims, including more than

$300 million each in August and September.

Because of a ruling by the federal bankruptcy court that helped set up the trust, the newest cash from utility decision-makers must be used to pay off federal government agencies with outstanding claims against PG&E, a pittance compared with the trust’s total funding. But lawyer Frank Pitre, a trust board member who led the lawsuit, said the “vast majority” of federal claims are now satisfied, so the trust “is close” to being able to use proceeds from future lawsuits against other utility officials to benefit fire victims.

This represents a huge change in lines of responsibility. Over the last ten years, utility companies have been convicted of or “taken responsibility” for many billions of dollars in wildfire damage,