Adds to existing law to provide for electric corporations' standard of care for wildfire liability.
PUBLIC UTILITY REGULATION -- Adds to existing law to provide for electric corporations' standard of care for wildfire liability.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
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This legislation creates the "Wildfire Standard of Care Act" under Title 61, Chapter 18 to create a standard of care through electric utility wildfire mitigation plans, subject to approval by the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (lPUC) for regulated utilities. In recent years, wildfires have bankrupted utilities and driven their customers' monthly bills to crippling levels. In part, this is due to courts holding utilities liable for wildfire damages, despite a finding of fault or causation. Many of Idaho's utilities, especially small and rural co-ops, could not survive those losses. Higher bills would harm Idaho's economy and place extreme burden on low- and fixed-income customers. The "Wildfire Standard of Care Act" protects customers and member-owners from the impacts of wildfire by empowering the IPUC to setclearandconsistentexpectationsforutilities'wildfiremitigationefforts, holdingutilitiestoarobuststandard of care in operations, maintenance, repair, and upgrades, and outlining liabilities for utilities that fail to meet IPUC requirements. It also motivates federal agencies to promptly authorize wildfire mitigation work.
FISCAL NOTE
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The total cost of two new Full Time Positions (FTPs) to cover the workload for thirteen wildfire mitigation plans submitted by three investor-owned utilities and nine consumer-owned utilities is $187,400 ($182,800 ongoing and $4,600 one-time). Costs are paid by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) Fund which is funded by collections from the regulated utilities and fees and assessments to the participating non-regulated utilities. No funds are allocated from the General Fund.
HOW THEY VOTED
Senate Third Reading
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YEA (16)
NAY (19)
LATEST ACTION
Recommitted to State Affairs
BILL INFO
- Session
- 2025
- Chamber
- senate
- Status date
- Feb 21, 2025
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Judy Boyle
Rep · HD-009B

Cindy Carlson
Sen · SD-007

Jim Woodward
Sen · SD-001

Douglas Pickett
Rep · HD-027A

Mark Harris
Sen · SD-035

John Vander Woude
Rep · HD-022A

Todd Lakey
Sen · SD-023

Charlie Shepherd
Rep · HD-007B

Doug Okuniewicz
Sen · SD-003

Britt Raybould
Rep · HD-034B

Stephanie Mickelsen
Rep · HD-032A

Clay Handy
Rep · HD-027B

Barbara Ehardt
Rep · HD-033A

Lori McCann
Rep · HD-006A

Dan Garner
Rep · HD-028B

Mike Pohanka
Rep · HD-026A

John Shirts
Rep · HD-009A

Shawn Dygert
Rep · HD-023B

Dori Healey
Rep · HD-015B

Ted Hill
Rep · HD-014A

Jack Nelsen
Rep · HD-026B

Joe Alfieri
Rep · HD-004A