Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo) is co-authoring a bill which will require PG&E and other utility companies to reimburse local small businesses and families for costs associated with the Public Safety Power Shutoffs.
"We need to have something in place that incentivizes PG&E and other investor owned utilities to be using these planned black outs judicially and only where they need to do it" said Cunningham.
Senate Bill 378 will allow small businesses like convenience stores or medical offices to submit a claim through the public utilities commission specifying the economic losses suffered during outages.
The bill would also help to better collect data on utility equipment in order to assess risk levels.
Cunningham says the bill will help as an opportunity to work side by side with utility companies in order to come up with a plan that is beneficial for everyone.
"We're not in the top tier of likely shutoffs areas yet, but it very well could happen here," added Cunningham.
Senate Bill 378 will be amended this fall and unveiled in its entirety in January.
