“If that money is not freed up, or if things don’t go as planned for PG&E, ratepayers won’t be reimbursed for the rate increases they’ll see due to the bonds, April Rose Maurath Sommer, executive and legal director of the Wild Tree Foundation, said.
On the other hand, if the trust has surplus money, the commission’s proposal would have PG&E distribute at least 25% of that to customers, with the rest going to shareholders, Maurath Sommer said, ‘which is morally reprehensible.’
Most securitizations in the country apply to costs that ratepayers would have been on the hook for anyway, according to Maurath Sommer.
But ‘if this bond is denied, as it should be, ratepayers will pay nothing, because they should not have to pay for the costs of damages they themselves have suffered,’ she added, noting that people who lost their homes and families in the wildfires are also PG&E ratepayers.”
-Utility Dive, California tees up proposals to securitize $7.5B in PG&E wildfire costs (April 7, 2021) read more