‘Unreasonable’: Idaho PUC decides on power company request to reduce wildfire liability

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission has rejected an eastern Idaho power company’s request to reduce its liability in the event its equipment started a wildfire.

The commission said in a news release last week that it would not grant a request submitted last year by PacifiCorp, an energy company that serves about 90,000 customers in Idaho under the name Rocky Mountain Power.

The request would’ve limited PacifiCorp’s wildfire liability to economic damages, like property loss. It would no longer have been responsible for punitive damages, meant as punishment for bad behavior, and emotional damages including pain and suffering.

The proposal raised concerns with environmental groups and victims of multiple 2020 fires in Oregon that PacifiCorp was found liable for. The company was ordered to pay more than $300 million to victims of the fires.

PacifiCorp spokesperson Jona Whitesides told the Idaho Statesman the company stands by its request. The proposed change would have still allowed customers to be compensated for damages to their homes or property and would not have impacted ongoing litigation, Whitesides said in a statement.

“PacifiCorp continues to believe its proposed change would strike a balance between everyone’s priorities of safety and affordability in providing electric service,” Whitesides said.

PUC calls request ‘unfair and unreasonable’

PacifiCorp told the Public Utilities Commission it wanted less liability because it worried hefty payouts would mean credit downgrades — like the downgrade from an A to a BBB+ following the Oregon fire rulings — which could affect its ability to access financing. It said those added costs could be passed along to customers and inhibit its ability to keep its infrastructure up to date.

In its final decision on PacifiCorp’s request, the Public Utilities Commission pushed back against that justification. It said PacifiCorp did not show that a reduction in wildfire liability would mitigate any issues with credit ratings.

“The company did not claim that it was presently unable to access low-cost financing due to its credit rating downgrade, and the company did not present evidence to show any negative impact on customer rates due to the credit rating downgrade,” the decision said.

The commission said it didn’t believe the proposal would be enforceable under Idaho law and noted that PacifiCorp’s proposal would’ve limited its wildfire liability even in cases of negligent conduct. It said reducing liability for negligence was not in the public interest and was “unfair and unreasonable.”

Brad Heusinkveld, energy policy associate for the Idaho Conservation League, said the commission’s decision was “both welcome and expected.” The Idaho Conservation League was one of a handful of organizations and individuals who submitted public comments on the proposal.

“PacifiCorp made made a bold request to shift wildfire liability away from the company and onto customers; the commission was right to reject it,” Heusinkveld told the Statesman in an email. “Reducing the company’s liability doesn’t get rid of costs, it just changes who bears them.”

The utility filed similar proposals in Oregon, Washington, California and Utah. It wasn’t immediately clear whether those proposals had been approved.