SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Amid complaints for the previous requests for rate increases from Liberty Utilities, the company has filed another application to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) under AB 1054 to recover costs from the Mountain View fire in 2020, one of the covered wildfires under the Assembly Bill.  The application is under review as of July 2, and would result in a rate increase of 16.4% for permanent residents for three years.

Liberty Utilities’ most recent request from the CPUC for a rate increase was for its General Rate Case (GRC), which has been hotly contested by groups like the Tahoe Energy Ratepayers Group and Tahoe SPARK. The CPUC is expected to make a decision on the GRC by December 19.

Critically, as the Tribune reported last September, approximately 60% of the requested revenue increase is directly related to wildfire insurance cost increases. The company was involved in 21 active lawsuits in September related to the Mountain View fire in Mono County. Now, Liberty Utilities is requesting this new rate increase to cover the costs of that very fire.

Under AB 1054, this is the first proceeding that the CPUC has categorized as catastrophic wildfire, according to Administrative Law Judge Regina DeAngelis. This case could possibly set the precedent for future CPUC proceedings on this matter.

The Mountain View fire occurred in November 2020, consuming over 20,000 acres and resulting in the death of Sallie Joseph, aged 69. One lawsuit that Liberty Utilities is in alleges their responsibility in her wrongful death.

Cal Fire’s investigation determined that the most probably cause of the fire was an energized power line igniting the grass that it lay in. Liberty Utilities in their case states they engaged a wildland fire origin expert who believed Cal Fire’s investigation was not sufficiently thorough and could have been hampered by precipitation.

However, Liberty Utilities also acknowledges in their case that there was evidence, such as an eyewitness support and separated conductors discovered after the fire, that they were responsible for the blaze. “Neither the fire agency investigation nor Liberty’s own investigation identified significant evidence showing an alternate cause of the Mountain View fire,” states the case.

Liberty maintains in its fact sheet that they were not cited for any violations, and no findings of fault were issued by state regulators, and attributes the fire’s ignition and spread to external factors like extreme wind and dry conditions.

Liberty argues that it prudently managed its system in relation to the fire, that external factors exacerbated the damage, that they reasonably resolved claims for a total of $175 million (which they say was “significantly less than the amounts that plaintiffs had demanded) and reasonably financed the Wildfire Expense Memorandum Account (WEMA).

The company is requesting the commission to authorize recovery of $78.2 million to resolve the third-party claims and associated legal and financing costs.

The final decision for this case is expected to be issued in July or August of 2026. Liberty filed a motion to shorten the time for protest and responses to the case, which was denied.

Protests from Cal Advocates, The Utility Reform Network (TURN) and the A-3 Customer Coalition have all been filed as July 30.

Cal Advocates and TURN’s protests suggest a schedule extension for the proceedings for several reasons, one being the novelty of the proceedings, another being the burden of cost on customers as these would stack on top of the proposed GRC rates if those were approved. The A-3 Customer Coalition protest called into question the justification of the entire application.

You can follow and comment on the proceedings by searching up the docket number A2506017 on the CPUC website.

Liberty Utilities’ official statement provided to the Tribune was, “Liberty made the filing aligned with California State Law.  Please refer to Liberty’s WEMA Fact sheet for more information on the request. Liberty is here to help.  We have resources to help with your utility bill if interested. Please reach out to our Customer Care team at 1-800-782-2506  or visit our website to view the options available.”

Eli Ramos is a reporter for Tahoe Daily Tribune. They are part of the 2024–26 cohort of California Local News Fellows through UC Berkeley.