KPBS Midday Edition

SDG&E Asks US Supreme Court To Weigh In On Wildfire Costs

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host, Marissa Cabrera / News Producer, KPBS Midday Edition

Published May 2, 2019 at 8:45 AM PDT

This story was published more than 4 years ago.

Flames from the Witch Creek fire light up the early Friday morning sky in northern San Diego County, Oct. 26, 2007.

San Diego Gas and Electric wants to bill customers $379 million in unrecovered 2007 wildfire costs. After state regulators and two California courts rejected SDG&E's request, the utility is now taking the fight to the U.S. Supreme Court.

San Diego Gas & Electric is taking its fight to be reimbursed for hundreds of millions of dollars in costs related to the 2007 wildfires to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The utility wants to bill customers for $379 million in unrecovered funds. State regulators and two California courts have rejected SDG&E's request.

On Tuesday, SDG&E filed a petition with the high court asking the court "to determine whether it is constitutional for states to impose strict liability on private utilities without ensuring they can recover their costs" as reported in The San Diego Union-Tribune.

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State investigators found poorly maintained SDG&E power lines sparked three of the 2007 wildfires. SDG&E said the fires were a natural disaster.

Union-Tribune Watchdog reporter, Jeff McDonald, joins Midday Edition Thursday to talk about the what a potential decision from the high court could mean for utilities amid California's wildfire threat.

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Maureen Cavanaugh

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Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

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Marissa Cabrera

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Marissa Cabrera worked as a producer for KPBS Midday Edition and had previously served as a Newscast Producer for KPBS' Morning Edition. Before joining KPBS she reported on Vatican affairs, social, and cultural issues in Rome, Italy. She also contributed to a documentary on sex abuse in the Catholic Church. Marissa has worked as a multimedia journalist at various news stations in San Diego and Monterey as well as Columbia, Missouri. Marissa graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism.

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