Sen. Dodd Responds to Utility Power Shutoff Investigation

NAPA – Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, issued the following statement today after the California Public Utility Commission announced it would investigate whether public safety power shutoffs are being handled appropriately by utilities:

“The Legislature has already given the California Public Utilities Commission full authority to regulate public safety power shutoffs,” said Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa. “It’s clear PG&E can’t be trusted with any latitude, and I appreciate President Batjer for initiating an investigation and issuing a ruling to address this critical situation. We need robust oversight, regulation and enforcement to ensure public safety.”

The action comes amid an unprecedented series of power shutoffs by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. And it follows the Legislature’s passage since 2018 of dozens of bills, including 14 by Sen. Dodd. Among them are:

Senate Bill 901 and Assembly Bill 1054 (co-author), ensuring electric utilities step up and make necessary investments to compensate victims, prevent infrastructure from sparking new fires and continue to provide electricity without unfair rate increases.

SB 167, which requires utilities initiating public safety power outages to plan for low-income people on life-support equipment; SB 190, which increases awareness and enforcement of defensible space requirements; SB 209, which establishes a statewide network of wildfire-weather monitoring devices; and SB 247, which improves vegetation management around power lines by placing an independent agency in charge of oversight.

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Senator Bill Dodd represents California’s 3rd Senate District, which includes all or portions of Napa, Solano, Sonoma, Yolo, Sacramento, and Contra Costa counties. You can learn more about Senator Dodd at www.sen.ca.gov/dodd.