The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is holding a rare meeting in the San Diego area on Thursday but commissioners have postponed voting on whether to reject a request from San Diego Gas & Electric to charge customers $379 million to recover costs from a series of deadly wildfires in 2007.

And that has some community groups and consumer activists suspecting the CPUC will issue a ruling in favor of the utility.

“The (investor-owned utilities) in the state of California want to be indemnified by the ratepayers for every cost, even if they should have done a better job,” said Diane Conklin, spokeswoman for the Mussey Grade Road Alliance, based in Ramona.

The CPUC usually holds its regularly scheduled public meetings at the commission’s headquarters in San Francisco but sometimes hosts meetings elsewhere in the state.


On Thursday, starting at 9:30 a.m., the commission will hold a meeting in Chula Vista.

Originally, one of the 36 items on the public agenda was a potential vote on the SDG&E request.

But late last week, it was announced the SDG&E item would “be held for further consideration” and commissioners would put off the vote. It is now scheduled for Oct. 12 in San Francisco.

The move comes one month after a pair of CPUC administrative law judges recommended commissioners reject SDG&E’s request to bill customers $379 million for the costs of the Witch, Rice and Guejito fires in October 2007 that killed two and destroyed more than 1,300 homes.


In a 68-page opinion, the administrative law judges said SDG&E’s management and control of its facilities leading up to the wildfires was “imprudent” and “unreasonable” and recommended commissioners turn down the request.

SDG&E strongly disagreed with the proposed judgment, saying the wildfires occurred due to circumstances beyond its control and said the utility would “vigorously challenge” the decision.

SDG&E officials have pointed out that California courts have ruled utilities can spread their costs of damages to ratepayers. SDG&E has estimated its proposal would cost the average ratepayer $1.67 more per month over the space of six years.

Commissioners are free to accept, reject or alter any recommendation made by CPUC administrative law judges.


Conklin and San Diego attorneys Michael Aguirre and Maria Severson, who represent ratepayer advocate Ruth Henricks, suspect the decision to postpone Thursday’s vote means commissioners will not accept the administrative law judges’ recommendation and will ultimately deliver a ruling favorable to SDG&E.

They cite CPUC documents showing SDG&E officials presented their case to staff members of all five commissioners on Sept. 5 and Sept. 6 in 30-minute meetings.

“The CPUC clearly postponed the hearing in San Diego County so that the residents whose lives were devastated by those fires could not be present when the commission votes,” Severson said. “Do the commissioners, whose staff met with SDG&E after the proposed decision, intend to vote against the (administrative law judges’) reasoned decision and force the fire victims to pay for SDG&E’s imprudent acts? Did they change the date to avoid a public shaming?”

SDG&E on Monday denied the meetings were anything nefarious, saying both sides have met with staffers at the commission over the costs of the blazes under the utility’s Wildfire Expense Memorandum Account.


“SDG&E has no prediction on how commissioners will vote once they take action on this request,” SDG&E senior communications manager Colleen Windsor said in an email.

Instead of voting on the SDG&E request, the CPUC will hold an “All-Party” meeting during Thursday’s afternoon session. Parties to a case are those individuals or groups who have been recognized by the commission. SDG&E said it will attend the meeting.

“This allows members of the public to attend in person and hear what the parties have to say about the proposed decision,” Terrie Prosper, the director of the CPUC’s public information office, said in an email.

A public comment period will kick off the meeting Thursday morning. Prosper said the All-Party meeting will also have a public comment period but the amount of time will be more limited and not all commissioners may be present.


The 2007 wildfires forced thousands to seek temporary shelter at Qualcomm Stadium.

An investigation one year later by the CPUC determined the Witch and Rice Canyon fires were caused by sparks from downed wires and the Guejito fire was caused when a lashing wire owned by Cox Communications hit an SDG&E power line.

The CPUC blamed poor maintenance for the sparking of all three fires.

Since then, SDG&E has expanded its weather sensor network to 144 weather stations throughout its service area and made investments in firefighting ranging from heli-tankers that can carry 2,650 gallons of water or fire suppressants to replacing 2,100 existing wood poles with steel poles.


The utility paid more than $2 billion in settlements and other costs in the aftermath of the wildfires, although it never admitted any liability.

Insurance covered approximately $1.1 billion of that amount and SDG&E accepted a $444 million settlement from Cox Communications.

SDG&E also received some payments from the Davey tree-trimming company and an electrical contractor.

The insurance and settlements left SDG&E with about $379 million in outstanding costs.


California Public Utilities Commission meeting

When: Thursday 9:30 a.m.

Where: Council Chambers, 276 Fourth Avenue Chula Vista


Business

rob.nikolewski@sduniontribune.com


(619) 293-1251 Twitter: @robnikolewski

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