California's power companies want ratepayers to cover all uninsured costs from wildfires. The utilities claim an insurance crisis has made the request necessary.
San Diego Gas & Electric spokeswoman Stephanie Donovan says recent large wildfire claims have prompted insurance companies to offer less coverage at higher costs.
"So it was the intention of all four investor-owned utilities in California to sit down together and put out this application requesting a wildfire expense balancing account," Donovan said.
The account would be used to bill customers for wildfire expenses that are not covered by insurance. SDG&E has already used its $1.1 billion in coverage to settle scores of lawsuits stemming from the 2007 fires and many more claims are pending.
State investigators say SDG&E lines ignited three of the fires.
