Edison International CEO on Wildfire Risk Mitigation and Power Safety

Wildfire Compensation and Investigation

• 💡 The Eaton fire is being investigated, with circumstantial evidence suggesting it may have been caused by equipment, though no definitive conclusion has been reached.
• ⚠️ Edison International faces a likely probable loss from the fire but is confident in demonstrating it operated its system prudently, supported by a safety certificate.
• 🤝 A wildfire recovery compensation program has been launched, offering a voluntary, direct claims process with expedited payment for impacted victims.
• 🎯 The program aims to help the community rebuild faster, with support from experts who designed the 911 fund.

Climate Change and Wildfire Risk

• 📈 The wildfire risk is increasing, not decreasing, with projections indicating a 20% rise in ignitions by 2050 due to climate change.
• 🏘️ There's a shift from forest fires to wildland-urban interface fires due to development in high-risk areas.
• ⚡ Utilities are essential for providing power, but this must be balanced with the growing fire risk and the need for affordable electricity.

Grid Modernization and Risk Mitigation

• 🛠️ Edison International is actively redesigning its grid in high fire-risk areas, which constitute 27% of its territory.
• 🔌 Over the past few years, a significant portion of overhead bare wire has been replaced with insulated wire or covered conductor to mitigate risk.
• 📈 Additional measures include adding fast-acting fuses, high-definition cameras, weather stations, and advanced forecasting models.

State's Role and Future Policies

• 📜 Legislation like AB 1054 established clear wildfire mitigation plans for utilities and created a wildfire fund for catastrophic events.
• ⚖️ This framework aims to balance utility accountability with financial health through liability caps.
• 🏠 New legislation, SB254, extends the wildfire fund and mandates a study on economy-wide impacts, including building codes, retrofits, and consumer insurance affordability.
• 💰 The study will also explore how to allocate costs beyond utilities for catastrophic risks, acknowledging that utilities are not the sole insurers for such events.