Patti Poppe wants California to pass wildfire liability reform. The state shelved it. The stock crashed. Now she's asking again but with more hope this time.
This is the same company that killed eighty-four people in Paradise because it couldn't be bothered to replace a ninety-five-year-old transmission line. Filed for bankruptcy. Emerged from bankruptcy. Immediately started more fires. Got convicted of manslaughter. Kept the monopoly anyway. And now the CEO is on a press tour explaining that the real problem is legal liability for the fires they keep starting.
The reform would cap damages. Make ratepayers eat the cost instead of shareholders. Poppe calls this fair. Shareholders call this fair. The people whose houses burned down have not been consulted on fairness.
The stock tumbled because without the reform PG&E might have to pay for the next town it incinerates. Investors find this concept unacceptable. They bought a utility stock for the dividends and the regulatory capture, not for the part where you're responsible for your own equipment.
Retail traders saw the dip and bought it. They always do. Some guy in Fresno just leveraged his Roth IRA on PG&E calls because he read that utilities are defensive plays. His house is in a high fire risk zone. PG&E owns the lines that feed his block. He does not see the connection.
Poppe remains hopeful lawmakers will revive the bill. She's probably right. California has a long proud tradition of making customers pay for corporate negligence. It's called innovation.
The stock is still a buy according to seven analysts who cover it, all of whom live in areas served by PG&E and apparently enjoy irony more than personal safety.
Photo by Lucas Vasconcelos on Unsplash
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