The plans of southern California Edison to compensate Eaton fire victims for damages were welcomed Thursday by lawyers representing the residents of Altadena, but attracted the provisional support of others who say that the initiative could help consolidate the $ 21 billion fund of the state.
The utility has announced its Forest fire recovery program This week, saying that it would be used to quickly pay the victims, including those who were insured, while avoiding long litigation.
The announcement comes as state officials plan to consolidate the state fund to compensate could be completely exhausted by Eaton Fire says. The costs that lawyers receive in the context of victims’ regulations could further reduce the fund.
State senator Henry Stern (D-Calabasas) said that the new Edison program could have some merit as potentially “a more effective means” than prosecution to ensure that the victims are quite remunerated.
He stressed that lawyers “crossed the country to represent” the fire victims of Eaton. “Do they really have their money when they pay 30% to these lawyers?” Stern asked.
Mark Toney, Executive Director of the Utility Reform Network, said that Edison’s program had the potential to reduce costs that should otherwise be covered by the Wildfire Fund, which was partly established by an additional invoices paid by Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric customers.
“If Edison is determined as the cause of the fire, everything they can set early at the start reduces the costs that otherwise be paid later,” said Toney.
Public service has published some details on the operation of the program, leaving the victims who are already facing uncertainty with more questions. And the lawyers who sought to represent the victims in prosecution against Edison quickly invited to exhort prudence.
“Without admitting the fault or ensuring transparency, Edison asks the victims to potentially renounce their rights,” said Kiley Grombacher, one of the dozens of lawyers involved in disputes against Edison for January 7 which killed 19 and destroyed 9,000 houses in Altadena.
According to Edison, the program would be open to those who have lost houses or businesses as well as tenants who have lost goods. He would also cover those who were injured by smoke, suffered from physical injuries or who had deceased family members.
“People can submit a complaint even if they are involved in active disputes,” said Kathleen Dunleavy, spokesperson for Edison.
Dunleavy said that the company would soon publish more information, including on eligibility conditions.
During a meeting Thursday in Sacramento of the Catastrophe Response Council, which oversees the Forest Fund, officials declared that they were creating criteria that Edison must follow in the design of the program, in particular having measures to prevent fraud and clearly the eligibility standards.
Sheri Scott, a milling news, told the Council that the company estimated that the losses of the Eaton fire varied from $ 22.8 billion to $ 22.8 billion.
“We have heard our guest today that we could run out of money very quickly,” said Paul Rosenstiel, a member of the Council appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom.
He urged state legislators to consider changing the law that has created the fund so that less money may flow to third parties who are not fire victims.
PG & E has created a program to directly pay the victims of the Dixie Fire 2021, which burned more than 960,000 acres in Northern California. He created a similar program to compensate the victims of the 2022 mosquito fire, which burned nearly 77,000 acres in the counties to place and El Dorado.
PG & E said that they had offered mosquito fire victims who lost their house $ 500 per square foot and $ 9,200 per acre for those whose prizes do not exceed 5 acres. To help rebuild efforts, the victims who decided to rebuild their homes were eligible for an additional $ 50,000.
Lynsey Paulo, a spokesperson for Pg & e, said in an email that the company had paid nearly $ 50 million to the victims of the Dixie fire thanks to his program. This money went to 135 households, she said.
“The PG & E program has been designed to provide applicants for resources to rebuild as quickly as possible and help communities to recover,” she said.
Richard Bridgford, a lawyer who represented the victims of Dixie Fire, said that the Pg & e offer was lower than the victims won through prosecution, and that only a fraction of the people eligible for the PG & E program decided to participate, he said.
“The victims have done evenly better when represented by advice,” said Bridgford, who now represents the victims of the Eaton fire.
The announcement by Edison of his program came while firefighters continue to investigate the cause of Eaton’s fire. Edison said in April That a main theory is that a dormant transmission line, used for the last time in 1971, was somehow used and triggered the fire. The company says that the new remuneration program “is not a legal responsibility admission”.
“Even if the details of how Eaton fires started are still being evaluated, SCE will offer an accelerated process to pay and resolve complaints in a fair and rapid manner,” said Pedro Pizarro, Managing Director of Edison International, the parent company of the public service, in a press release. “This allows the community to focus more on recovery instead of a long and expensive dispute.”
Public service said they hired consultants Kenneth R. Feinberg and Camille S. Biros, who had worked on the victims’ remuneration fund on September 11, to help design the program.
If Edison is tried responsible for the fire, the $ 21 billion fund in forest fires would reimburse the company for all or most of the amounts paid to the victims through the new program or through prosecution and insurance complaints.
Half of the $ 21 billion in the fund comes from the costs of electricity bills for Edison, PG & E and SDG customers. The other half has been provided by the shareholders of these three companies, which are the only public services which can request reimbursements from the fund.
