Executives at PG&E Corporation warned that California’s wildfire policy debate could carry material consequences for the state’s artificial intelligence build-out, consumer energy affordability and the utility’s valuation if lawmakers allow a planned risk study to stall or adopt costly, burdensome reforms.
“Our goal is to address the open-ended and unknown risks, which the current construct puts on the IOUs and our customers,” CEO Patti Poppe said during the company’s earnings call Thursday. “For California to attract much-needed capital, you must be able to quantify and price the risk.”
The message comes as the California Earthquake Authority, acting as administrator of the state’s Wildfire Fund, prepares recommendations under SB 254 Phase 2, a state-mandated study evaluating “new models to equitably socialize risk” and potentially “complement or replace the Wildfire Fund.”
