Dive Brief:
Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) bid to securitize $7.5 billion in costs associated with the 2017 wildfires in its service territory could hit ratepayers hard, consumer advocates are warning state regulators.
PG&E has proposed creating a customer credit trust to offset additional charges that customers could face if the securitization is approved. But modeling from ratepayer group The Utility Reform Network (TURN) suggests that there is a 40% chance that trust will have a shortfall as opposed to PG&E’s estimate of 16% in which case ratepayers would be on the hook for an average of nearly $2 billion, under TURN s modeling.