Wildfire Survivors, Consumer Groups, Insurers, Public Entities Oppose Limits on Survivors' Rights At Hearings In CA Capitol On CEA SB 254 Report, Says Consumer Watchdog

SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Survivors of the worst fires in California history will be speaking out against limits on their rights to recover damages from for-profit utilities that start wildfires in a series of hearings Tuesday and Wednesday.

The hearings will discuss recommendations put forth by a California Earthquake Authority (CEA) report under SB 254, including limiting liability from for-profit electric utilities, preventing wildfire survivors' rights to recovery, imposing a sales tax to create a 'bailout fund' for the utilities, and preventing insurance companies and public entities from recovering losses when utilities start fires.

"The SB 254 study was supposed to evaluate how to equitably allocate catastrophe burdens," said Joy Chen, executive director of Every Fire Survivor's Network. "Instead, it's a bailout for utilities, dressed up in policy language. Every burden it shifts away from utility shareholders lands on someone else: on survivors, on policyholders, on taxpayers. It's a zero-sum game. If companies that start fires pay less, everyone else is forced to pay more."

Insurance companies, public entities, consumer groups and trial lawyers also oppose the limited liability recommendations in the study because they prevent recovery for victims, policyholders, and governmental entities when utilities start wildfires.

A coalition of 23 public interest groups wrote legislative leaders calling out the CEA for failing to acknowledge the utilities' role in recklessly starting wildfires and to create deterrence to future wildfires.

"A key goal of reform should be to reduce future costs by incentivizing utilities not to start wildfires," the groups wrote. "Yet the report appears to assume utilities are passive victims of climate change rather than actors whose operational decisions, maintenance practices, and financial incentives materially affect wildfire risk. In fact, evidence from multiple major fires shows that utility equipment failures — often tied to aging infrastructure, inadequate maintenance, or operational decisions — have played a significant role in California's wildfire crisis… When utilities with disastrous safety records post huge profits while Californians pay some of the highest electricity rates in the nation, reform should focus on curbing excessive profits and waste – not limiting wildfire survivors' right to recovery."

Chen agrees, pointing to the need to pass AB 1774 (Boerner), that requires audits of wildfire mitigation spending, which totals $9 billion annually, because past audits found the utilities not spending money they were allocated.

Chen also pointed out that shortly after the legislature approved a bailout for utilities in SB 254, the for-profit utilities had record paydays.

"In October, the CPUC approved a massive Edison rate hike and nearly $1 billion in back pay. Just two months later, Edison increased shareholder dividends, to pay out $1.3 billion in 2025 alone. Its three largest shareholders are all out of state: Vanguard, Pennsylvania, BlackRock, New York, and State Street, Boston," Chen said.

"Instead of protecting against bankruptcy, the backroom deals forced Californians into a massive transfer of wealth to these Wall Street shareholders…In 2025, Edison's profits tripled from $1.3 billion to $4.5 billion in a single year. For 2025, Edison CEO Pedro Pizarro's own compensation rose 20% to $17 million, in the same year his company caused one of the most devastating fires in U.S. history.

"Who's paying for all this corporate excess? The same families fighting to stay housed."

"The CEA study forces everyone else to pay for the utilities' negligence," said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog. "The only entities not accountable are the ones who started the fires. The power of the utilities' rapacious political giving and lobbying expenditures are driving these recommendations, not good public policy."

The three for-profit electric monopolies, including SDG&E's parent company Sempra, gave state legislators $19,377,728 in 2025-2026 and spent $11,866,570 on lobbying. 

Grand totals for 2025-2026

Totals broken out by year

Chen will testify at hearings in the Senate Energy, Assembly Energy, and Senate Joint- Emergency Management and Natural Resources Committee.
The hearings are scheduled for:

Senate Energy, Utilities & Communication
Tuesday, May 12th at 9am
Swing Space - 1021 O St., Room 1200
The committee will be livestreamed here
Subject: Enhancing California's Resiliency to Natural Catastrophes: Senate Bill 254 (2025) Study Report Focusing on Electric Utility-Related Policy Recommendations

Senate Insurance
Tuesday, May 12th at 1:30pm 
Swing Space - 1021 O St., Room 2100
The committee will be livestreamed here
Subject: Bending the Curve: Protecting Californians from Wildfire Risk

Senate Joint - Emergency Management and Natural Resources & Water
Wednesday, May 13th at 9:30am
Swing Space - 1021 O St., Room 2100
The committee will be livestreamed here
Subject: Wildfire Mitigation, Resilience Financing, and Recovery

Assembly Utilities & Energy
Wednesday, May 13th at 1:30pm
Swing Space - 1021 O St., Room 1100
The committee will be livestreamed here
Subject: Improving the Utility-Cause Wildfire Cost Recovery System for Survivors, Ratepayers, and Other Stakeholders

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog