Plan would make utilities pay for disasters

[Newsjock]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

A Bay Area legislator proposed Wednesday to require that a utility's shareholders, not customers, pay the costs when its negligence causes an explosion or fire that destroys property.

"Ratepayers should not be on the hook to provide utilities with an open checkbook to cover excess expenses when catastrophic damages happen because the utility failed to do its job to protect the public," said state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco.

He said he would introduce a bill to prohibit a utility from seeking a rate increase to cover its uninsured costs from a fire or other catastrophic event that was the utility's fault, as determined by regulatory agencies.

Requiring investors to bear those costs would "encourage the utilities to focus on maintenance and prevention, not post-disaster cleanup and excuses," Leno said.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/15/BASA1FEE6R.DTL&tsp=1

[CreekDog]

1. Why that would be capitalism!

:applause:

[pezDispenser]

2. not our form of capitalism.

[molly77]

4. Deregulation has brought a world of problems to

utilities. I live in ME. When a Canadian company bought out Bangor Hydro..they fired quite a few of the maintenance workers. Now when we have a big storm that requires extra clean up...the cost is added to the electric bill.So a foreign company can fire and jack up prices because they have no stake in a community.

Our democratic governor, Baldaci, used to be a republican. He was even a member of the "family'. Is currently in bed with a wind farm corporation named First Wind. ....Enron, Larry Summers ties. Laws are changed frequently to make wind farms a profit. As an example, the northern ME woods have been deemed expedited wind farm areas. The towns and villages have no say in whether a wind farm is situated in them. These turbines are 40 stories high. If you are unfortunate enough to live right next door to one..you have strobe lights at night , flicker from the sun in the day time ...and a 24/7 noise problem with a beat that vibrates your windows and makes the walls crack. Money is given hand over fist because of the Larry Summers ties...tax payer money to build the things. Meanwhile our organic dairy farmers are going under. Stimulus money that goes right straight into fat cat's pockets.

[crim son]

5. Hi molly77!

I have never heard that Baldacci was once a republican. Do you have a source? It's not that I doubt you but I'd like to read what you've read. Thanks!

[MichiganVote]

3. And they will pass the costs onto the consumers as they already do

[glitch]

6. Only if the PUC lets them.

Public Utility Commission, which is made up of political appointees, so yeah, they will...

[valerief]

7. Unless Elizabeth Warren stops 'em! nt