Southern California Edison will launch a wildfire recovery compensation program this fall for victims impacted by the Eaton fire, the utility company announced on Wednesday, July 23, amid intense scrutiny over what role, if any, its equipment may have had in igniting the mammoth blaze.
SCE officials have not admitted culpability in starting the January blaze. In April, however, Pedro J. Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International, the local utility’s parent company, acknowledged to investors that SCE equipment could have ignited the fire. The company, he told investors, likely would suffer significant financial losses if found liable, given that no other potential cause of the blaze had been identified.
Investigations into the fire’s cause remain ongoing.
As does the recovery effort.
Under the new program, meanwhile, SCE said the utility would provide direct payments to eligible individuals and businesses victimized by the fire, which destroyed more than 9,000 structures and killed 19 people.
“Community members shouldn’t have to wait for the final conclusions in the Eaton Fire investigation to get the financial support they need to begin rebuilding,” Pizarro said in a statement.
“Even though the details of how the Eaton Fire started are still being evaluated,” he added, “SCE will offer an expedited process to pay and resolve claims fairly and promptly. This allows the community to focus more on recovery instead of lengthy, expensive litigation.”
Details about the total amount of money available in the program and how much each individual would receive will be announced later, said SCE spokesperson David Eisenhauer. The program is expected to operate through 2026.
There will be no application fees, administrative costs or legal fees charged to those who participate, SCE said, and those who have filed a lawsuit against the company may submit an application into the program.
And while other specifics had not yet been finalized, Eisenhauer said, the program will be voluntary. There will be nothing binding in it and people will be under no obligation to join the program.
Still, Wednesday’s announcement comes amid mounting scrutiny on SCE over its equipment’s role in the fire and amid complaints from dozens of plaintiffs in a lawsuit accusing the utility of having liability.
That prompted speculation among plaintiffs’ attorneys on Wednesday that the program was, in effect, an admission of that liability.
Among those attorneys — who are collectively representing clients in more than 130 lawsuits blaming Edison for the fire — is Alexander Robertson.
“They can put whatever spin they want on it,” Robertson said, “but they are absolutely admitting to setting the fire.”
In response, Eisenhauer said the investigation is ongoing — and emphasized that a cause has not been officially determined.
But other utilities, Robertson said, have used compensation funds to get victims to forgo suing and instead accept “quick cash” at a discounted rate.
“I think it is an end-run around the lawsuits,” Robertson said. “It’s in Edison’s interest to buy off the claimants. Utilities typically try to dangle quick cash in front of people who lost their homes. I think it’s immoral.”
Edison’s announcement also comes a day before a state panel will consider an annual report stating that if Edison is found liable, damage claims from the Eaton fire could exhaust California’s $21 billion wildfire fund. That fund was established to shield Edison and two other member utilities from bankruptcy if found liable for fires.
The panel that oversees the state wildfire fund — the California Catastrophe Response Council — is scheduled to meet Thursday afternoon.
“We think we have a strong case against Edison and we’re going to advise our clients not to take a discounted (amount),” Robertson said, noting that it depends on the circumstances for each individual. “If Edison goes to trial, the likelihood that damages exceed $21 billion is extremely high.”
Edison officials, for their part, have conceded that their internal investigation is centering around whether a long-dormant electrical tower became re-energized and produced sparks that lit up the brush.