SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Southern California Edison says it is signing on to a new fund to help cover the costs of catastrophic wildfires caused by power company equipment.
The company, which serves about 15 million people, is the first of the state’s major electric companies to announce it will join the program.
Southern California Edison says it will contribute about $2.4 billion in September followed by smaller contributions each year over the next decade.
A bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this month calls for California’s major investor owned electric companies to chip in to a fund that will ultimately cover $30 billion to $40 billion in claims from future fires.
The companies will also have to meet new safety standards and spend billions on fire prevention as part of the program.
