Gov. Gavin Newsom has quietly signed a bill allowing California Utility companies to take taxpayer dollars from the State Wildfire Fund to pay their liability for fires that they started
At least one utility company is Gavin Newsom’s donor
California saw at least 237 utility equipment ignitions with 135 of those ignitions tied to Southern California Edison.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 254 quietly expanding the state’s $21 billion Wildfire Fund to help major utility companies from massive fire-related liabilities – all while shifting the costs back onto California taxpayers and ratepayers.
The legislation, which took effect immediately as an “urgency statute,” creates a new “Wildfire Fund Continuation Account” worth up to $9 billion in bonds.
This allows investor-owned utilities like Southern California Edison (SCE), Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) to tap into public money for damages, fines, and settlements tied to wildfires they ignite.
This comes as energy bills skyrocket and Newsom aggressively pushes green mandates.
At the center of the issue is the Eaton Fire.
A fire sparked beneath an SCE transmission line in Altadena.
The blaze burned 9,400 homes and structures, killed at least 19 people, and racked up $45 billion in damages.
Insured losses alone hitting $13.7 billion to $22.8 billion.
Under SB 254’s fine print, added just days before the legislative session ended, SCE can now bill customers for any Eaton costs that exceed the fund’s cap.
Newsom touted the bill during a signing ceremony at the California Academy of Sciences as a way to “cut utility bills” and promote “smart public policy,” but critics say that’s false.
