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Consumer Advocates Want SDG&E Plan Short-Circuited

The Northern California-based Utility Reform Network, TURN, says it is time for the California Public Utilities Commission to reject SDG&E's proposal for a Wildfire Expense Balancing Account. The fund would let the utility recover costs linked to wildfires from ratepayers.

State regulators balked at the original proposal, so SDG&E offered to shift 10 percent of the cost to shareholders. That proposal also lifted the cap on ratepayer liability, and that doesn't sit well with consumer advocates.

"SDG&E wants all the costs of the 2007 wildfires to be paid by customers," said Mindy Spatt, a spokeswoman for TURN. "And they want to know in advance that even if they are negligent, even if there's criminality involved, customers are going to pick up the tab."

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The utility did not return calls seeking comment.