The two companies were the worst-performing names in the S&P 500 on Monday morning.
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Meanwhile, Sempra (SRE), the holding company that owns San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG & E) and Southern California Gas Company, was down about 3.5%.
The bill pitted insurance companies against utility providers over the question of who would pay for wildfire damages caused by faulty utility-owned equipment. At the heart of the matter is the right insurers to sue utility companies to recoup the insurance payouts made in the aftermath of wildfires. This legal maneuver, known as subrogation, helps hold down insurance rates. But it can force utility companies to charge ratepayers — ordinary customers — higher prices in order to cover the cost of such liabilities.
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However, insurance companies have found that their subrogation rights are valuable in their own right. They have taken to selling them on the open market to private equity shops and other investment firms. These then sue the utility companies, seeking the payout for themselves. The new bill would limit the sale of those rights.
It would also deny utility executives bonuses in years that their companies cause deadly wildfires.
Newsom Calls Bill 'Real Progress'
In 2019, PG&E declared bankruptcy following liability claims for a wildfire that happened a year earlier. High voltage power lines owned by the Southern California Edison caused the 2025 Eaton Fire near Los Angeles. The Eaton Fire went on to become the second-most expensive wildfire in California history, according to Cal Fire.
A January 2025 report from Verisk estimated losses from the Eaton fire at between $8 billion and $10 billion.
Newsom had originally advocated for a more expansive version of the bill that also capped the amount utilities would have to pay insurers. Doing so would lower costs for utilities, which means they wouldn't hike prices for consumers, Newsom argued.
Newsom framed the deal as an initial step in the right direction.
"This system needs full structural reform — not a partial one," Newsom said in a statement Saturday following the legislative deal. "I urge the Legislature to build on this progress next year and finish the work we started to secure the Wildfire Fund's long-term durability, stabilize electricity rates, and ensure fire victims are never again turned into unsecured creditors in a bankruptcy proceeding."
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