Oregon utility regulator rejects PacifiCorp request to limit its liability in wildfire lawsuits
Utility regulators in Oregon have rejected a request from PacifiCorp seeking to limit its liability in wildfire lawsuits.
Under the proposal, PacifiCorp would only have been responsible for paying actual economic damages in the form of lawsuit awards. The company filed the request in November, months after an Oregon jury found it liable for causing deadly and destructive fires over the 2020 Labor Day weekend. KKG reported.
The Oregon Public Utility Commission rejected PacifiCorp’s proposal on Thursday, saying it would ban payouts for non-economic damages such as pain, mental suffering and emotional distress. It said the request was too broad and likely broke the law.
The regulator added that the proposal could create a situation where customers and non-customers of PacifiCorp cannot claim the same compensation. The proposal stated that by agreeing to receive PacifiCorp’s electricity, customers would waive their right to seek non-economic damages.
Over the past year, Oregon has assembled a jury multiple verdicts have ordered PacifiCorp to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to the victims. Ongoing lawsuits could leave the country on the hook for billions.
In a statement to KGW, PacifiCorp said it is seeking a balance between safety and affordability and that it will “consider the committee’s feedback as we continue to explore approaches to address this risk.”
Oregon Consumer Justice, an advocacy group that had challenged PacifiCorp’s proposal, said the ruling was an “important victory” for taxpayers because it allows them to seek full compensation for any future wildfire damage.
“We applaud PUC for putting people first and rejecting a proposal that sought to unfairly limit the rights of Oregonians,” Executive Director Jagjit Nagra told KGW.
The Oregon Sierra Club also praised the decision. Its director, Damon Motz-Storey, said utilities “must invest and take action on wildfire mitigation,” KGW reported.
While Oregon regulators rejected PacifiCorp’s proposal, they also said that “Oregon must find appropriate policy and regulatory solutions to the serious problems that wildfire liability poses to PacifiCorp and, indeed, to all utilities and their customers.”
Last June, a jury PacifiCorp found liable for negligently failing to turn off power to its 600,000 customers despite warnings from top fire officials. The jury found that it had acted negligently and deliberately and must pay punitive and other damages – a decision that applied to a group including the owners of up to 2,500 properties.
Thousands of other members of the group are still awaiting trial, although the parties are also expected to pursue mediation that could lead to a settlement.
The 2020 Labor Day weekend is burning were among the worst natural disasters in Oregon history, killing nine people, burning more than 1,700 square miles (4,856 square kilometers) and destroying more than 5,000 homes and other structures.